Back into the mix
by Tachunky
Summary: McCree wants nothing more than to leave his old life behind, and for a while he did. But he will soon find out that your past will always catch up to you, and unfortunately for him, his past caught up to him in the form of someone he wished he'd never see again.
1. Chapter 1

**So I saw the reunion cinematic annd as a McCree main I just had to write this. The story will dart back and forth between the present and McCree's past and unless I can find a better way to transition smoothly between them, I'm marking the switch with a "/". And yes, I know it was confirmed the McCree and Ashe were never romantically involved, but I had already started this before I found out so I'm seeing this to the end.**

 **/**

McCree to the outskirts of the town he grew up in. The town he's about to leave behind forever. His backpack felt heavy behind him despite containing only a few cans of food and some personal belongings. Seventeen and on the run. Where he was going, damned if he knew. The midnight breeze was cool annd yet he still found himself sweating profusely, further ruining his shirt, which was already covered in blood.

He shook his head, trying to wrap his head around what had happened but everything was a blur to him. He tried remember it bit by bit. There was his alcoholic mother getting drunk, as usual. There was a fight between his father and mother, as usual. There he was, trying and failing to fall asleep since the yells of his parents reached all the way to his room, as usual. It had started out as any other night in their household, but then everything went silent. At first, McCree thought they just managed to find a way to resolve their fight peacefully, but who was he kidding?

The silence scared him more than any fight his parents had ever had, so much so that he found himself doing what his father had begged him never to do, and interfere. He slowly walked down the steps to the living room, where the image had haunted him to the point that he froze in his place as he stared in horror. His father was bleeding out on the floor, throat slit while his mother knelt next to him, the knife in her hands.

She saw McCree standing at the stairs and she stood up. "Jesse?" she asked "Jesse, its not what it looks like. I…I didn't mean to."

McCree didn't say anything. He couldn't. His mother was standing over the corpse of his father. Scared, he shakily took a step back. His mother got closer to him, still not putting the knife down. There was something different in her voice. "Jesse, listen to me."

She may have been drunk but McCree saw it clearly. She wasn't approaching him to comfort him, she was more concerned with cleaning up her mess, which included killing any witnesses. The thought scared McCree into running back upstairs. His mother yelled after him, but he didn't listen. He just ran, ignoring the sound of his mother drunkenly stumbling down the hallway behindd him.

He ran into his room, locked the door and hid in his bathroom. The tense few seconds where nothing happened felt like an eternity to him until he finally heard his mother yelling as she banged against his door. "Jesse! Jesse get out here now!"

McCree's heart raced. _Calm down Jesse,_ he told himself _she can't do anything with the door locked if she only has a knife. She'll get tired and leave, and you can sort all this shit out in the morning._

A gunshot shattered McCree's thought into pieces. "Get out here Jesse! Now!" his mother yelled before firing another shot with what he assumed was his father's revolver. He heard another shot and his door was kicked open. The sound of her footsteps in the room made another thought creep into McCree's mind, a thought that terrified him and one look at the door confirmed his suspicions.

McCree ran for the bathroom door, reaching for the lock just as the door swung open, hitting him and sending him flying into the bathtub. He reached for the shower head and sprayed his mother with water just as she entered. She stumbled backwards and fell down, and McCree got up, barely managing to reach the discarded revolver on the ground before his mother did.

He pointed it at his mother, hands shaky as he ordered her to drop the knife. "Jesse, listen to me-"

"I said drop the knife!" McCree yelled as he pulled the hammer back.

"Your father deserved it Jesse." She said "He would always fight me. Yell at me. He doesn't love me anymore."

"You're wrong mom. Dad loved you, so much that it hurt him to see you do this to yourself every night. What you're doing, its unhealthy mom. Not only for yourself, but for our family. That's why he kept on fighting with you. He keeps on telling you, begging you to stop, to get some help but you didn't. You're too stubborn. He just wanted to help you and you fucking killed him!"

"Jesse-"

"And you tried to kill me too!" McCree yelled "You're going away for a long time mom, I'm calling the police."

His mother grabbed the knife again. "Fine," she said "you care about your father so much, you can die alongside him!"

She charged at McCree and his insticts made him squeeze thr trigger before he could stop himself. His mother fell to the ground, dead. The sight of her made him fall to his knees as the reality of what he just did sunk in. He just killed his mother. Nevermind the fact that she was drunk and bloodthirsty, that he did it in self-defense. That wouldn't matter when he's being arrested, murder is still murder.

He had to get out of there. His neighbors would have called the police once they first heard gunshots. It wouldn't take long for them to reach his house. He quickly got up and grabbed his backpack, putting in as many clothes that he was able to grab with his hand and stuffed them in the bag. He even stuffed his father's revolver in there, although he wasn't really sure why. It wasn't the best memento, but it was all he had.

After grabbing some food from the kitchen, he ran out just as sirens came into view from thhe distance. One of his neighbors saw him and ran out to his porch, seeing the bloodstains on McCree's shirt.

"Jesse, what happened?" she asked "Where are you going? Why are you covered in blood?"

McCree was panicking so much he couldn't decide which question to answer first, so he answered none of them and ran while his neighbor yelled after him.

"Jesse, come back! Jesse!"

/

"Jesse!"

McCree woke up to the sound of Mercy's yelling who he saw kneeling next to him once his vision 0cleared. The place was on fire, gunshots in the distance which slowly mad their way to them. Mercy forced McCree to focus on her while Ana fought off multiple Talon agents in the back ground. "What happened Angela?"

"No time, here take this." Mercy handed McCree his revolvers and healed him as much as her damaged caduceus staff would allow her. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him going for a little longer. One of the Talon soldiers got through Ana and fired at them, managing to hit Mercy once before McCree was able to take him down.

He groaned as he forced himself to stand up, making his way to Mercy, who was bleeding from her chest. He picked up her caduceus staff "Fuck Angie, how do I use this?"

"Don't. Just…just wait." Mercy gasped.

Unsure of what to do, McCree just watched and after a few seconds, the bleeding slowed until it stopped and through the blood soaked fabric of her shirt, McCree could see the bullet wound slowly close. He took a step back as Mercy got up. "What the-"

"I'm sorry Jesse." Mercy said "I had no choice, I had to do it."

"Angie, you-"

McCree was cut off when Reinhardt crashed through the wall, carrying both Jack and Gabriel over his shoulder.

"Dear God what happened to them?" Ana asked once she saw the condition they were in.

"They nearly killed each other down at the main entrance when Talon breached through it." Torbjorn said, following from behind Reinhardt "Gabriel took most of the blast."

Reinhardt gently laid them down in front of Mercy and put his shield up to protect them. Mercy grabbed her staff and pointed at them. She activated it and watched as a golden beam attached itself to them for a few seconds before it sparked and thee yellow beams died down. Mercy groaned in frustration.

"My staff is too damaged, I can't heal them both."

"I'm out of healing darts." Ana said as an explosion rocked the room, bringing down even more debris onto to them "We have to get out of here."

"Ana, we can't let them have this place."

"We're not going to Reinhardt."

Reinhardt blinked. "Ana, what are you saying?"

"You know exactly what I'm saying Reinhardt." Ana said "And if either Jack or Gabriel were concious right now, they'd do the exact same thing and you know that."

Reinhardt sighed. Ana was right "Yes ma'am."

McCree and Mercy helped Torbjorn carry their unconcious commanders while Reinhardt shielded them. Ana picked up one of the rifles from the fallen Talon soldiers and they fought their way to the hanggar. Plastic sounding taps marked the areas where Reinhardt's shield absorbed the bulles of the Talon soldiers and Ana fired back, killing them through the one way shield.

"We have to hurry, shield's taking damage!" Reinhardt yelled over the chaos just as cracks began to form on the corners.

"Hang on Reinhardt, we're almost there."

Miraculously, they reached a plane before Rein's shield broke completely and McCree and Mercy got Jack and Gabriel's bodies inside while Torbjorn set the coordinates for the plane's autopilot to fly to, all while Ana and Reinhardt held the Talon soldiers back. A few more shots and the shield finally broke, the bullets now finding Rein's armor as he jumped in front of Ana. They slowly tore it apart until one of the bullets found his flesh.

Reinhardt yelled in pain and grabbed his hammer, taking out all the soldiers with a firestrike to a nearby fuel truck. While reinforcements were approaching, Ana got Rein into the plane. "How much longer Torbjorn?"

"I'm going as fast as I can." Torbjorn said.

"Go faster. If those soldiers reach us before we can take off we're dead."

McCree listened to the multiple footsteps that got closer and closer to them, proceeded to load both his revolvers with his last two speed loaders and stepped off the plane. Ignoring Mercy's yells for him to get back inside, he focused on the footsteps, pulling the hammers back just as the first Talon soldier came into view. Twelve quick shots turned into twelve lifeless corpses. McCree had just enough time to holster both his revolvers before he was yanked back inside the plane as it prepared to take off.

"Do you have a death wish kid?" Torbjorn asked.

The plane left the hangar just as more soldiers reached it. Once they were far enough, Ana walked over to the plane's console, where she pressed her hand on a scanner.

"This is Captain Ana Amari, security number 085793, we are experiencing a code black scenario, requesting clearance for doomsday protocol."

 _Request acknowledged._ The console beeped, and parted in the center, giving Ana access to a remote detonator. She picked it up and armed it.

"Ana, are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Ana sighed. "We don't have a choice Reinhardt."

Reinhardt gave her a curt nod. "Then its only fitting that you do it."

Ana stared at the detonator for a second before pressing the button. For a few seconds it was silent, then something exploded in the background, followed by multiple successions of it until a big explosion reduced the structure to rubble in a giant mushroom cloud. If it wasn't obvious when they were fighting their way out of there, then the explosion had confirmed it.

The Overwatch Swiss Headquarters has fallen.

…

Their plane landed in its destination and as they got off they were intercepted with a medical team that had been alerted prior to their arrival. They wheeled off Jack and Gabriel to the medbay and told those that could still walk to follow them there so they can be treated as well. Deciding his injuries weren't fatal, at least not yet, McCree decided to look around first, taking in the cool ocean breeze.

"Watchpoint Gibraltar." McCree said to himself "Not really the way I thought I'd visit it."

"Mum!" Pharah yelled, interrupting McCree's musings as she ran towards Ana. She wrapped her in a hug "When I heard what happened, I was so worried."

"I'm fine Fareeha, don't worry." Ana reassured her daughter "I just need to rest."

Pharah nodded and let go of her. "I understand. I love you mum."

"I love you too." Ana said, giving her a kiss on the forehead before walking inside the facility.

McCree waited until Ana was gone before he spoke to Pharah. "What about me? You weren't worried?" he asked sarcastically.

"Not really." Pharah replied with a smile "I was more worried about you coming back, and that I will never be rid of you."

McCree feigned sadness "Your words hurt me Fareeha."

"Really Jesse? Of all the things that gets thrown at you, the one thing you get hurt by is the one thing Zeigler can't heal."

McCree's expression turned serious and Pharah noticed. "Uh oh, I know that face. What happened?"

McCree sighed. "Angie did it. She actually did it."

"Oh gross! Don't tell me about that."

"Jesus Fareeha, no." McCree said, his face turning a bit red "The other thing."

Pharah turned as serious as he was. "Are you sure, how can you tell?"

"Well for one, I saw it." McCree said "Why'd she do it Fareeha? Why didn't she listen to me?"

"Jesse, I enjoy awkward conversations like this as much as the next third wheel, maybe you should talk about this with her?"

McCree sighed. He thanked Pharah and walked to the medbay where a few of the medical staff told him to just take a seat on one of the beds and someone will be with him shortly. "Actually, I was looking for Angela Zeigler."

"She's currently treating Commander Reyes and Morrison. We will have someone to treat your injuries soon."

"I wasn't…uh, sure thank you."

It wasn't until he was being checked out that McCree realized the extent of his injuries. It wasn't anything too serious, but it still hurt like hell, more so now since the adrenaline had worn off. The nurses told him he needed to stay overnight with an IV just to keep an eye on him which McCree thought was completely unnecessary since a cold shower, somee painkillers and a beer could do the same job but in a way that McCree actually enjoyed.

No matter though, at least it gives him an excuse to be there when Mercy finishes treating Jack and Gabriel. It gives him a chance to confront her in a way that she can't escape. What would she do, kick him out of the medbay? He fell asleep for a while and woke up just as Mercy had exited the operating room, taking of her gloves as she sat down after what McCree could only assume was a very tiring ordeal, which almost made him too guilty to do what he was about to do. Almost.

"Are they going to be ok?" he asked, easing her into the conversation.

"Their condition is stable at the moment. I'll keep an eye on them for the night, make sure that if anything changes I'll be the first to know."

McCree couldn't think of anything else to say other than what he was going to say in the first place so he just said it. "You shouldn't have done it Angie."

"Done what? Save our commanders?"

"You know what I'm talking about Angie." McCree said "And you know how dangerous it was."

Mercy looked like she was going to deny further, but she didn't. "I told you Jesse, I had no choice." Mercy said "When I heard the first explosion I ran to the lab. I had to find a way to safely carry my nanomachines out of there but all the containers were already broken from when the scientists were evacuated and I panicked. I grabbed a syringe and injected them into me."

"That was dangerous Angela, what if something happened to you?"

"Something did happen to me Jesse." Mercy said "I got shot while I was making my way to the rest of you. I got away but I knew the bullet hit an artery so I just found a place to hide and I waited. But nothing happened. I didn't bleed out Jesse, I didn't die. The nanomachines, they work. They actually work."

"What if they didn't?" McCree asked "What if the minute you injected them, you die. Did you think about that?"

"It doesn't matter Jesse. I didn't die, did I?"

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" McCree all but yelled "You made a reckless decision Angela and yet for some reason you can't understand that."

"I couldn't just leave those nanomachines behind Jesse." Mercy argued "What if Talon got their hands on it? How can we fight them if they can regenerate from any injury we inflict on them?"

"You should have destroyed it! That's a safer way to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. A way that doesn't put your life at risk."

"That is my life's work Jesse!" Mercy yelled, on the verge of tears "I can't just throw it all down the drain."

"I remember when you first told me about these machines." McCree said in a calmer voice "I remember when you made the first prototype batch and I remember how sad you were when they killed the poor lab rat you injected them into. I remember going to your lab at three in the morning so I can literally drag you to your bed since you stayed up countless nights trying to work out the imperfections. Anyone that dedicated to their work is capable of duplicating it. If you had destroyed them, you would be able to whip up another batch in a month, tops. But you didn't, you intentionally put your life at risk."

"Don't act like you can make these nanomachines Jesse. You can't chastise me for trying to save my work when you have no idea how hard it was to produce." Mercy said, not calming down despite McCree's efforts "We may be together but that doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do. I am a grown woman and my decisions are mine and mine alone."

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do Angie." McCree said "I care about you, so excuse me for getting mad when you pull some shit that could cost you your life."

"Get out."

"What?"

"You heard me Jesse." Mercy said "You always say your fine whenever you get hurt don't you? Well for once I'm going to listen to you. If you're'fine' then you don't have any reason to be here. Get out."

McCree looked like he was going to fight with Mercy, and she would have been prepared to fight back but instead, he just pulled the IV out, grabbed his hat and left. He couldn't believe it, she actually kicked him out of the medbay.

Mercy sat down at her desk, clenching her fists to stop herself from crying. The worst part about their fight was the fact that McCree was right. She understood why he was pissed at her but she still can't accept it. She won't. Those nanomachines were a product of her blood, sweat annd tears, who was he to tell her she was better off destroying them?

She groaned as she rubbed her eyes. She needed to clear her head. Getting up, she walked to the restroom to splash some water on her face. As she walked back to the medbay, she heard a rapid beeping noise, a noise that could only mean one thing. She raced back, reaching the medbay just in time to see Gabriel flatlining.

"No, no, no." Mercy whispered to herself as she grabbed a defibrillator from the wall. She grabbed the paddles and prepared to use them on Gabriel. "Please God no."

She shocked his chest and looked at his heart monitor. Nothing. She rubbed the paddles and tried again. Still nothing. Her tears returned as she rubbed the paddles to try a third time, begging to whatever god was listneing to her to help her save her commander. She shocked him again. The heart monitor didn't change. It was still flat, Gabriel was dead.

Mercy didn't bother to hold back anymore, finally allowing herself to cry as she slid down to the floor. She had been a doctor for nearly ten years now, losing count of all the lives she had lost and yet each death still hurts as much as the first time someone died in her arms. After a while, she got up and walked to the comms machine on the wall where she would call for some more medical staff so they could wheel Gabriel out of there and give him a proper burial. She pressed the button on the reciever but something caught her eye before she got the chance to speak.

Her caduceus staff.

It was just sitting there, propped up against the wall. Torbjorn had fixed it as best he could while she was working on the others, using his work to stop himself from worrying about his friends. Mercy didn't blame him, she would have done the exact same thing. She grabbed it and examined it in her hand. It wasn't good as new, but it was in pretty good condition, especially after what it had gone through.

She grabbed the high tech syringe she used to inject the nanomachines into herself and pressed it against her arm. She pressed a button and after a beep, she flinched as a needle penetrated her flesh. She waited until it got enough before pulling the needle out. She looked at it under the bright white lights of the medbay. She walked over to Gabriel, staff and syringe in hand, ready to inject some of the nanomachines she has taken from her body and inject it into him.

It wasn't until the needle was pressed against Gabriel's arm did Mercy hesitate. She knew Jesse wouldn't approve of this, and she would understand why, but if she had a way to save Gabriel then she was going to try dammit. She injected the nanomachines into him and raised her staff. Pointing it at him, she pressed a button and a golden beam of light slithered out, connecting itself to the machines now inside Gabriel's body.

A bright light shone in front of her and through it she could see Gabriel's body start to take shape once more. A smile crept its way into Mercy's face. It was working. It was actually working. Her celebration was cut short when her staff sparked and and the light died down. Mercy dropped her staff in disappointment. She knew it was too good to be true.

She was about to call the medical staff when a light began to shine once more. She looked at her discarded caduceus staff on the ground where it sat there, no evidence that it had been activated. She just stared at the bright golden light, watching as it slowly turned into black smoke. A hand reached out through the smoke and grabbed her by the neck. A figure walked out of the smoke and into the light, giving Mercy a look at what had grabbed her.

She knew it was Gabriel, but he was unrecognizable. His body was in bad enough shape as it is from the blast, but whatever she had done to him had only made it worse. Black smoke came out of his major wounds and his expression towards her was different. It was different from any expression he had ever given her. It was scarier. More sinister.

"Hello Doc." He said as his grip tightened around her neck.

…

McCree flicked the lights on as he entered his room. He had calmed down a bit, but was still pissed enough to not notice the small wrapped package on his bed until he had nearly sat on it. He picked it up and unwrapped it, revealing a folded cloth and a note from Mercy.

 _Sorry that we have to be on duty for your birthday. Again. It wasn't really the way I imagined I'd show you around the place I grew up in but duty calls. Anyway, all those cowboys in the movies you always watch had one of these so I figured my cowboy should have one as well._

 _-A._

McCree unfolded the cloth and spread in on his bed. It was a red serape, with yellow intricate patterns embriodered along the sides. He tried it on and looked at his full body mirror. A perfect fit. She knew his size. She knew everything about him. McCree sighed, he and Mercy rarely fought, which made it hurt more on the few occasions that they did. He took the serape off and went to go back to the medbay to apologize for what he had said earlier.

On the way to the medbay, he felt off. Somethig was wrong, and the flickering lights coming from inside. Pulling one of his revolvers out, he slowly pushed the door open, hitting the knocked over lamp on the floor as he did. He pushed it all the way open and upon seeing the clear signs of struggle in the office, he raised his gun.

"Angela?" he called out "Angie its me. Where are you?"

He heard some footsteps behind him and he turned around to see Mercy with a shotgun pressed to the back of her head by…something.

"What the fuck?"

The creature laughed, or at least tried to, at McCree. "What's wrong kid? A little black smoke make you forget who I am?"

McCree stared in a mix of horror and confusion. "Gabriel?"

"In the flesh, or at least what's left of it." Gabriel said "You have Ziegler to thank for that."

"Angie, what is he talking about?"

Mercy's eyes were glistening with tears. "Jesse…I…I didn't…"

"Getting tounge tied are we Doc?" Gabriel said "I was dying and I felt it. No one will ever be able to tell you this but you feel everything. You feel your life slowly separating itself from your body. I was about to reach that light and the end of the tunnel when I felt something was pulling me back. I thought something was bringing me back, and I wasn't complaining, but it didn't grab all of me. It left something behind, I wasn't whole, but it was too late and I was back in the medbay, but I knew I wasn't the same man anymore."

McCree slowly lowered his weapon. "I get why you would be mad Gabriel, I would be too but if you could just put the gun down, we can talk about this."

"As much as I hate this body, if you can even call it that, its not somethinng I would kill someone over."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Gabriel asked.

"He's working for Talon, Jesse." Mercy said "He was the one who let them inside the Swiss headquarters but Jack caught on. He wasn't supposed to be inside when Talon breached through but Jack had delayed him long enough for both of them to get caught in the blast."

"I knew you were smart Doc. What you did to me was fucking stupid, but you're smart. It's a shame I have to kill you, you had so much potential." Gabriel said "But then again, so did Liao. What good did that do her?"

"You killed Liao?" McCree asked.

"Right again kid." Gabriel said, a hint of a smile on his scared face "You know, the night that I killed her I didn't have to break into her room. She showed up at my doorstep as I was about to head out wearing nothing but an oversized shirt. Originally I was going to kill her then and there but I played along. Who knew the shy nerdy girl was super kinky behind closed doors?"

Gabriel chuckled and Mercy elbowed him in the side. "Fucking pig."

In response, Gabriel hit Mercy in the back of the head. "As much as I enjoy talking to you two, I really have to get going." He said, raising his gun.

McCree raised his gun as well and Gabriel shot him in the arm. He fell to the ground, hand clutching his bleeding limb while Mercy was yelling in the background. "For the love of God Ziegler, shut up!"

Gabriel raised his shotgun and Mercy closed her eyes. McCree did as well, expecting to hear a shot but instead heard Gabriel struggling. He opened his eyes to see Gabriel's finger slowly dissolving into black smoke, going through the trigger with each futile attempt to pull it. The smoke spread to his hand and the shotgun fell through it which had distracted him long enough for McCree to get three shots off, all of which all went through Gabriel.

Once the arm around Mercy's neck turned to smoke as well, she broke free and ran to McCree, who was watching as the rest of Gabriel turned to smoke as well. As he slowly turned into nothing more than a wraith. The three of them were too caught up in the moment that they hadn't even noticed the alarm go off until two guards burst into the room. The fired at Gabriel, who just ignored the bullets as they went through him.

"We're not yet done Ziegler." He snarled as he escaped through the window.

McCree grabbed Mercy's arm, bringing her attention to him just as he passed out from blood loss.

…

"Give it to him straight but give it to him slowly, you understand?"

"Yes Ana. This isn't the first time I had to break news like this."

McCree groaned as the sedative wore off and he started to wake up just as Ana left him and Mercy alone in the medbay since Jack had already gotten up once he heard the news about Gabriel. Mercy realized he was awake and put the package she was holding on her table before walking over to his side.

"What happened Angie?"

"Jesse listen to me and no matter what happens I want you to try to stay calm, alright?"

"Why?" McCree asked nervously to which Mercy sighed at.

"I tried to save it Jesse but it lost too much blood."

"Save what?"

He saw Mercy's face scrunch up as she thought of how she was going to tell him. In the end, she decided to just show him, so she lifted the blanket, revealing a metal prosthetic where McCree's left arm is supposed to be. "W…what the fuck?"

"Jesse please calm down." Mercy pleaded.

"I…but I can still feel it. I can still feel my fingers."

"Those are phantom pains Jesse, they usually come with amputations." Mercy said "This prosthetic is the closest we have to an actual arm. Torbjorn made it himself, after a while you won't be able to tell the difference."

"Won't be able to tell the difference?" McCree asked "I lost my fucking arm Angela!"

"I understand Jesse, but there's nothing we can do about it anymore other than to move past it. It will get better, I promise."

McCree grit his teeth to keep himself from screaming. The fact that Mercy was talking to him like she does to her patients, the same condescending and motherly voice only served to piss him off more. "This shouldn't have happened in the first place!" McCree yelled before he could stop himself "I tried to tell you not to fuck around with those…those machines Angela. Injecting them into yourself was bad enough and then you go and do this?"

"Jesse-"

"No. You have no right to defend yourself Angela." McCree cut her off "You have to stop experimenting on the lives of others in the name of your fucking research. You can't play God because it always backfires but its not always you who gets affected by it and I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about Gabriel. Sure it turns out he was dirty but look at him, what he turned into, that's a fate worse than death and its because of you."

"I just wanted to save him Jesse."

McCree scoffed. "There you go again, saying you just wanted to do the right thing as if it would justify the shit you did to do it." He said as he removed the needle of the IV and got up.

"You're not cleared yet, where are you going?"

"I'm done Angie. I can't do this anymore."

"Done with what?"

"With everything." McCree said "With blackwatch, with overwatch and with you."

With that, McCree grabbed his hat and belt and left the medbay. He walked to his room, where he ran into Pharah who wrapped him in a hug. "I was just about to go see you, are you ok?"

McCree gestured with his metal arm. "As ok as I can be."

"Damn, and it was the dominant arm too."

"As if my penmanship wasn't bad enough." McCree said "Looks like I'll be using one revolver from now on. The prosthetic is great but its not as good as my actual shooting arm."

"You think you can adapt with your right arm?"

McCree shrugged and entered his room. "I have to Fareeha." He said as he began to pack.

"What does it look like? Ana said that with all the bad press overwatch has at the moment, its best if we lay low, disband for a while until it all dies down, if it dies down."

"So that's it?" Pharah asked, somewhat offended "You're leaving just like that? Had I not run into you I wouldn't have had the chance to say goodbye."

"You're my best friend Fareeha, do you really think I wouldn't come see you every now and again?"

"I would have still appreciated a goodbye though."

"Sorry Fareeha, but the more people I see, the harder it would be for me to let go." McCree said "I hope you understand."

Pharah looked at him silently then offered her fist with a goofy grin. "I do. Don't forget our bro code."

McCree shook his head and gave her a fist bump. "I've been telling you since you were twelve and I'm still telling you until today, you don't count because you're not a guy."

Pharah shrugged. "I like girls, is that good enough for you?"

"Careful now, your mother might hear you." McCree teased "You have to come out someday Fareeha."

"Maybe, but that day is not today." Pharah said "Good luck Jesse."

McCree gave her one last hug. "Thanks. Don't tell anyone I left please."

Pharah nodded and watched as McCree walked out of the base and out of overwatch.

/

"Hey!"

McCree woke up when the driver of the truck he hitched a ride on found him. He grabbed his things and jumped out before the driver could react and ran as far as he can as fast as he can from him. He heard the truck start back up and he just kept running. Nevermind the fact that his feet hurt from walking the whole day yesterday, he needed to get out of there.

He cut through the space between two buildings and looked back once he was through to the other side. The driver yelled threats at him but eventually just left. Once McCree had calmed down, hee looked around to see where his legs took him, which just happened to be a gas station. He entered the bathroom and looked in the mirror. His reflection stared back at him, basically rubbing in his face how shit he looked. After taking a piss and washing his face, he stepped out where a nearby billboard told him where he was.

Deadlock Gorge.

The smell of cooked hotdogs made their way up his nose, grabbing his attention. He looked at the convenince store and thhe mere sight of someone else eating was enough to make him drool and his stomach rumble. He sat down on one of the benches and rummaged through his bag only to be reminded that he eaten all of his food on the first few days he had been on the run. He rummaged through his bag some more. If it ever came down to it, his father's revolver still had one round left…

 _No._ He warned himself _You are not going out that way._

A luxury vehicle pulled up to the gas station and stopped to let out a large omnic and a woman barely older than he was. The woman told the omnic something and went in the convenience store while she went to fill up the car. A thought crossed McCree's mind and he hated himself for it, but he was desperate. Grabbing his father's revolver, he approached her.

"Hands off the pump now." He demanded at the woman, who looked ready to scream. "Yell for that omnic and you'll be dead before he gets here."

The woman stared at him, more in anger than in fear. "Fine then. The keys are in the ignition, just take it."

"Lady, it's a nice car and all but that's not what I'm after."

"Ok, how much do you want then?"

McCree thought about it before deciding it wasn't money he wanted either. "Money is useless if there's nothing to buy. Keep your money, I have no use for it where I'm going."

"What do you want then? I can only think of one last thing and I'd rather die."

"Food." McCree said, sounding desperate "I need food. Please."

The woman's expression towards him changed. She raised her hands in a sign of goodwill then slowly opened the car door to retrieve something inside it. McCree was expecting a bag of chips, or maybe some leftover fast food if he was lucky, but the woman surprised him with container after container of home cooked meals. Still speechless, he put the containers in his bag.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

He stowed his weapon and turned to leave when he heard metal clanging. The sound kept getting closerr and closer, like something was running towards him.

"Bob wait!" he heard the woman yell from behind him, but the omnic ignored her. Instead, it kept running towards McCree and backhanded him with his metal fist. McCree flew through the air and landed on his back.

McCree craned his neck to see the woman yelling at the omnic which was still advancing towards him to stop which got the three of them more attention than Jesse needed. While the people were distracted by the omnic, he got his things and ran away.


	2. Chapter 2

"What part of 'Bob wait' don't you understand?"

The omnic stayed silent, not that it had much of a choice. It just stared straight as it drove. "Bob? Are you listening?" Upon being asked again, the omnic looked at the woman talking to him, which was enough for her to see his acknowledgement. She was about to say something else when the screen on the center console came to life, and another butler appeared on it.

"Miss Elizabeth, your mother was inquiring about your current whereabouts."

"They actually noticed I was gone. Or do they just want the car back?"

"Miss Elizabeth, please just answer the question."

"I'm on my way Reginald, I just had to, uh, stop for something." Ashe said, thankful that Bob couldn't actually speak otherwise he'd call out her bullshit. Not that it wpuld have made a difference since Reginald clearly didn't believe her though he didn't push any further.

"Just hurry up please." He said, and the feed had cut to black.

"Don't look at me like that Bob." Ashe said, though she was unsure why. Why was she defending the man who robbed her? If anyone else had done that, she would have Bob rip whoever that was into pieces without so much as a bat of an eye, and yet, she didn't. She had mercy on that man and that man in particular. It wasn't the first time someone held a gun on her demanding something, but it was the first time that someone had walked away with what he actually asked for, let alone with his limbs in tact.

Ashe could tell he was different. That he didn't want to do it. Hell, he even apologized. He didn't want money, he needed food. But he wasn't the first either, a handful of other robbers only did it because they 'needed to' accordin to them, but that didn't change their fate. They were still given the same treatment of anyone that tried to rob her, so why was that man any different?

She stopped dwelling on her thoughts when Bob drove the car into their estate and stopped it in front of the mansion. She took the keys and tossed them to Reginald. "There you go. Now why was my mother looking for me?"

"You'll just have to wait once they get back to find out."

"Get back? They left again?" Ashe asked "They just got back, where are they going now?"

"Mr and Mrs. Ashe have gone on a business trip in Asia. They will be back in a few months."

Ashe's fist clenched once she heard the news. She stormed to her room and slammed the door behind her in frustration, but that frustration was more towards herself instead of at her parents. Why wasn't she used to this by now? Her parents were barely home, and at the times that they were, they might as well not be since they don't spend their free time with her anyway.

So why was she still pissed? If it wasn't her birthday in a few days, her parents could go away for half a year and it wouldn't be any different from their other business trips. But no, in all of her nineteen birthdays, her parents had been there for her in exactly one of them, and that was because that birthday was the actual day she was born. Every year she would hope to see them, and every year she would be disappointed.

Ashe went to the bathroom, trying to calm down as she sat in the shower. Whatever, if they didn't care about her as a child, they won't appreciate the woman she has turned into. Even that man that robbed her seemed to give more of a shit about what happens to her in their brief encounter than her parents did their whole lives. Ashe's thoughts snapped back to him. She knew that he would stay away once he got what he wanted, and she wasn't complaining, but she couldn't help but wonder where he is now.

…

McCree looked over the food he was given, surveying his options. There was roast beef, cooked ham and half of a turkey. Still in disbelief from the fact that that woman not only gave him food, but even saved him from her omnic, he dug in, eating more in one night than he had in the past few days.

After trying and failing to cut the ham multiple times, his plastic knife broke. With a sigh, he tossed the plastic fork as well and ate with his hands. If his mother was here, she'd chastise him for his table manners. His mother…

McCree focused on his food, pushing away any and all thoughts about that night. A bit from a rather juicy portion of the ham smeared grease on his mouth and he reached for a napkin. As he wiped it, he noticed his cheeks were wet as well, but he knew it wasn't grease. He was crying. He tightly shut his eyes, trying to blink away the tears but it didn't work. Looking back, he was never really given a chance to properly grieve over the loss of his parents, but now he's alone. Finally letting his feelings come out, he hugged himself as he cried himself to sleep.

A violent shaking woke McCree up the next morning. "I said gently Bob." A voice in the room had scolded.

McCree opened his eyes and were met with the green eyes and metallic mustache of the omnic that he knew as the omnic that sent him flying through the air. In a panic, he scrambled for the revolver in his bag only to not find it there.

"Calm down, we're not here to hurt you." The woman said, holding his gun in such a way that her finger isn't anywhere near the trigger.

"I'm sorry about yesterday alright?" McCree apologized "I just needed food and I was so desperate that-"

"Hey, relax. That's not what we're here for." The woman gave the omnic his revolver and offered him her hand. McCree reluctantly accepted it and she helped him up.

"Why is your omnic staring at me?"

"You mean Bob? Yeah, he wants to kill you but I told him not to."

"Not that I'm not thankful, but why did you tell him that?"

The woman sighed. "I'm not sure." She said "I guess, I guess I saw myself in you. You remind me of me."

McCree raised an eyebrow. "Really? How so?"

"You're desperate. Alone. You need someone to lean on, someone you can voice all your problems and worries to but there is no one there. Kind of like me."

McCree scoffed. "No offense lady, but you'll have to excuse me if I find that hard to believe. I may not know a lot about you but I do know you're loaded. You basically have success handed to you on a silver platter the day you were born."

"Yes I have money." The woman said "But that's all I have. What's money going to do when I need someone to talk to? When I need someone to hold me and tell me everything's going to be alright?"

"So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is, I feel your pain. I know it sounds patronizing but when you really look at it, we're in the same situation. We're both alone. The only difference is that, since you are on the run, I assume that you were put into this situation by a shit turn of events. I was born into this. My parents were barely around, and the times that they were, they act like they don't even have a daughter. You may think that I live a good life but the truth is, I'd rather be poor as long as I have my family."

McCree didn't say anything, too busy realizing how stupid he was for thinking that she was happy just because she was rich. His family was getting by just fine but they weren't rich. Not even close. But those memories of them, the times when his parents weren't fighting over his mother's alcohol problem, when they were actually happy, he wouldn't trade those memories for the world. The woman standing in front of him, she never had the opportunity to experience that. The one thing she yearned for was the one thing money can't buy.

"So what is it that you want to do?"

"What you've been feeling the past few days, I've felt my whole life and I'm telling you, it feels like shit. I would never wish that feeling upon anyone. I want to help you. You seem like a good person, you don't deserve what happened to you."

"Lady, I-"

"Elizabeth." The woman said "My name's Elizabeth."

"Jesse." McCree replied "Its pretty bold of you to just assume that."

"I know. So if you make me regret this, I'll have Bob tear you limb from limb. Clear?"

McCree nodded and they walked out of the building and into her car. "How'd you find me anyway?" he asked as they drove off.

"This is the nearest building from the gas station that is abandoned. I figured you would have stayed there for thhe night."

The trip back from the gas station was relatively short, which McCree was thankful for. Omnics don't need oxygen, but if they did McCree would be able to feel Bob breathing down his neck. They arrived at her estate and McCree's jaw dropped. The sight of it was almost enough to make him forget the past few days. Almost.

"Elizabeth are you sure about this?" McCree asked nervously once he saw how most of the groundskeepers eyed him once they got out of the car.

"I'm just trying to help someone in need Jesse." Ashe said "Besides, technically they work for me as well, so they can't complain."

The two of them walked up the steps to Ashe's mansion where a butler approached them. "Miss Elizabeth, may I ask what you're doing?"

"Calm down Reginald, he's just dropping by." Ashe said before turning to McCree "Come on, follow me."

They walked through the massive house, McCree only getting more self conscious about himself when he saw how lavish everything was. Ashe led him to the kitchen where she instructed one of the chefs to prepare him a meal. While waiting, Ashe sat down and gestured for McCree to do so as well. Behind him, Bob stood way too close for comfort.

Ashe could tell this was making him uncomfortable. "Sorry about that. Its just to be sure, I hope you understand." McCree nodded at her "If you don't mind me asking Jesse, what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

Ashe rubbed the back of her head, thinking of how to properly word what she was going to say. "I mean something must have happened to you. Now you're starving and on the run, and from the looks of it, you were saving the last round in that revolver for yourself. If its ok with you, can I ask what happened?"

McCree took a deep breath. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about, but he knew better than anyone that he had to talk about this eventually. Plus it's the least he could do since he was already eating at her house. But if he was going to, he's going to get something from her as well.

"I'll tell you," McCree said "but only if you let me ask you a question first."

"Very well then." Ashe said "Fire away."

Not really thinking he would've gotten that far, McCree racked his brain for a question. "Ok then, are you really all by yourself? There has to be someone in your life."

"Wow, that's personal."

"What you asked me was as personal as it could get."

"I know." Ashe sighed "Like I told you, my parents were barely around, and at the times that they were they didn't spend it with me."

"What about friends?" McCree asked.

"I got in a fight at school once and my parents pulled me out, said they didn't want me ruining the family name." Ashe said "They had me homeschooled so growing up, the only people I interacted with were wanna-be teacher assholes that get mad at me when I get something wrong. Not exactly friend material. All I have is Bob, and that's not saying much."

McCree looked behind him. He'd never seen an omnic look so insulted before. Ashe snapped her fingers and he turned his attention back to her.

"Your turn. Answer my question."

McCree took a deep breath, thinking of where to start. "My mother's an alcoholic, about as alcoholic as an alcoholic can get and she and my father would always get into fights. One night, _that_ night, she must have been drunker than usual and she lashed out at my father. By the time I came downstairs, she had killed him, and she tried to kill me. Gotten pretty damn close to doing so too. I managed to get the gun from her but she didn't stop. I had to do it Elizabeth. I had to kill my mother. After that I just ran. I couldn't stay in that town anymore. Everything there just reminds me of what I did."

"Shit Jesse, I…I shouldn't have asked."

"Its fine." McCree said "I would rather talk about it with you than with the officer interrogating me when I'm finally caught."

The chef came back and set a three course meal in front of them, and although he was starving, McCree hesitated. "Why are you doing this Elizabeth?" he asked once more "I robbed you at gunpoint and you invited me into your home and are giving me food."

"Just so we're clear you didn't rob me, I gave you that food." Ashe said "And for someone that had done you such a kindness, don't you think it would be insulting to that certain someone if you refuse their offer for help?"

McCree didn't need to be told twice and he dug in. From the corner of his eye, he could see Ashe smiling at him which made him slow down, realizing his table manners were nobe existent compared to her. She knew which knife to use, he was holding his chicken leg by the bone. He put his food down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, which only made him feel more improper.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I look like I haven't eaten in days." McCree said.

"You haven't eaten in days."

"I know, but it still feels rude."

"Jesse trust me, its fine." Ashe said and they continued eating when one of the workers approached them.

"Miss Elizabeth, your presence is needed at the front gate."

Ashe excused herself and went with the worker, where she then saw a police officer. "What's going on here?" she asked.

"Hey kid, do you know who owns this place?" the police officer asked her.

"Technically, I do. Why, what's wrong?"

"We got a call from this address regarding the fugitive from Santa Fe." The officer said "Do you mind if I have a quick look around?"

Ashe was torn. Part of her wanted to hand McCree over to the officer, he'll be taken back, used to clear the whole situation up and then be put in a foster home. It wasn't perfect, but it would be a better place for him than where he was a few days ago. But another part of her screamed at her not to do so. For one, he told her himself that he didn't want to go back, and she didn't blame him. He had no place there anymore. Self defense or not, anyone would be reluctant to take in the teenager who killed his mother.

"Ma'am? Did you hear me?"

Before Ashe could answer, Reginald came from inside the mansion and welcomed the officer inside, who thanked them before he looked around. When he was out of earshot, Ashe turned to Reginald. "You called the cops?" she asked him in anger.

"Yes I did. In case you haven't noticed, you brought a criminal into the estate."

"He's not a criminal Reginald." Ashe said "He's just a kid who got caught up in a shitty situation and I'm just trying to help since no one else can. And you know the rule, no matter what happens, no police remember? Mom and dad said to always leave it to the security team."

"Miss Elizabeth, the police officer is here merely for insurance. Its just to make sure, just in case the security team can't handle him."

"He's a fucking kid Reginald!" Ashe said, throwing her hands up "He's no more of a threat than I am."

"Be that as it may, he is still a criminal and he will still be taken into custody, now with all due respect, as the head of security, I am telling you to stay out of this."

Reginald walked back in to assist the officer and Ashe ran, cutting through the garden to get to the dining hall before them so she can warn Jesse. She reached it just before Reginald and the officer, who were just as shocked as her when she saw that McCree was no longer there.

"Where is he?" the officer asked.

"I swear he was just here." Reginald said "He couldn't have gotten out of the estate without us knowing." He pulled his radio out to talk to the rest of thhe security team "Put the estate into lockdown, now!"

"Come on, he can't have gone far." Reginald said and when he and the officer went off to search Ashe felt someone grab her from behind and pull her into a nearby cupboard. The light was dim and she had to squint to see properly but she knew who dragged her in there, and he was not happy.

"You called the fucking cops on me?" McCree asked "Is that why you brought me here?"

"I didn't call them Jesse. I really do want to help you."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"How do you think you got away from Bob?" Ashe asked "He was under strict orders not to let you out of his sight. Had I not told him to let you go, you would still be sitting on that table, if you're not being dragged to the squad car that is."

McCree stared at her, but Ashe knew he was convinced so she continued. "They're searching the mansion right now and the whole estate's on lockdown. You can't leave without being spotted."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"Nothing. I thought you would be able to think of something."

McCree shook his head and Ashe swore. "Maybe…maybe if I can get to the control room, I can turn off the cameras and-"

Ashe was cut off when they heard something crash in the background. Slowly, she pushed the door open and peeked outside, where the officer and Reginald were fighting. From her position, she could only watch as the officer overpowered Reginald and slammed his head hard against the corner of the dining table. Before she could stop herself, Ashe let out a small scream, which was enough to catch the attention. He raised his gun at her.

"On your knees! And don't you dare call for that omnic."

"What are you doing?" Ashe shakily asked "I thought you were just going to take a look around."

"I was, but then I remembered that your parents never call the police so if someone called us, then they weren't home. Perfect opportunity for me then. Now hand me all your money."

"This won't end well for you, you know." Ashe warned "There are cameras everywhere. You pull that trigger and you might as well have just confessed to killing me."

"I don't think so kid. I know your parents, how much they value their name. They would do anything to keep it from getting stained, even the murder of their own daughter."

Ashe's bluff didn't work. Admit it or not, the man was right and it only pissed Ashe off, knowing the fact that her parents were more than likely to just forget about their daughter's death than to have it ruin the family name. If she was going to die, she was going to take the thing that her parents valued the most with her.

Their money.

"Their computer upstairs contains all their bank account credentials." Ashe said "If you let me I can transfer the money to your account."

"Make it quick." The officer demanded.

Ashe led the man to her parents' office where she made the transaction. The officer then led her downstairs, back to the dining area. "Thanks kid. You were useful so as a reward," the officer cocked his pistol "I'll make it painless."

"I gave you the money, let me go."

"I never said I'd do that." The officer said "You just assumed that. That's your fault."

Ashe stared at the officer, hoping he'd keep his word. Before he could shoot her however, a chair broke over him and he stumbled forward. He turned around with his gun raised only to have it kicked from his hand and out the window.

"Elizabeth, get my gun!" McCree yelled as he squared off with the officer.

Ashe ran to McCree's bag and fished for his revolver while McCree was losing the fight in the background. She finally got a hold of it and pulled it out. Turning around, she went to help McCree only to have him thrown at her. They both fell to the ground and the revolver slid out of Ashe's hand, just as the officer was charging at them.

McCree picked up the revolver from the ground and aimed it at the man. _You wouldn't shoot me again would you?_ He blinked. In the officer's place was his mother. How? His mother was dead. He killed her…

His hand shook, unable to pull the trigger despite how much Ashe was yelling at him to do it. The officer quickly closed the gap and before he knew it, his fist connected with his face and he was sent back to the ground. His face hurt like hell, but that wasn't what was worrying him. His heart raced, his couldn't breath properly. What was happening to him?

He didn't have much time to dwell on it as the officers boot cane down onto his head, knocking him out.

…

"Jesse, Jesse are you ok?" Ashe asked.

McCree's eyes slowly opened and he groaned. "Where are we?"

"You're in the police station holding cell." A voice that McCree couldn't see answered him.

He turned his head to see that there were two others in the cell with them, only separated by a few metal bars. Ashe grabbed him by his shoulders and turned him so that he was facing her. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. My head hurts a bit but I'm fine." McCree said "What happened back there?"

"Mom and Dad don't trust the law enforcement here, saying all of them were corrupt. As you can imagine, the relationship between them and our family is pretty hostile." Ashe said "It was just our luck that the officer that responded to the call was actually corrupt."

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. After he knocked you out he threw us in the back of his squad car and dropped us at the station then he took off again. Probably seeing what else he can take from the mansion."

Another police officer entered the room to get drop off a package and Ashe yelled for him. "Hey! What the hell is going on, why are we in here?"

"You attacked an officer, what did you expect?"

"He attacked us first, it was self defense."

"You're not the first one to say that." The officer said "Although I doubt you're the first person to prove it." The officer left the room and Ashe hit the cell door in anger.

"What's wrong, being rich not giving you the privilige you think you have? We're all the same under the eyes of the law." One of the other two inmates said.

"Oh don't talk to me about the law when you're in the same cell as me."

The inmate shrugged. "I never said I was a saint, but I am another victim of the bullshit law enforcement here!" she yelled, more to the pollice officers in the other room than to Ashe.

"Keep yelling and they're going to come beat us again Taylor." The other inmate said.

"Don't worry Diaz, there are cameras all over the place."

"And yet they always seem to turn off whenever the officers do anything bad to us. The girl's parents have a point, there are only a handful of clean cops left in this shithole."

"I take it that this isn't your first time here." McCree said.

"Clearly. Michelle Taylor." The inmate said, extending her arm through the bars "The downer laying on the bed is Miguel Diaz."

McCree shook her hand. "Jesse McCree. She's El-"

"We know who she is." Taylor cut him off "Anyone that doesn't have two pennies to rub together does. Pondering on why schmucks like her are lucky enough to be born rich when people like us have to work our asses off just to make sure we have something to eat. No offense."

"You say shit like that and say no offense as if it makes everything better." Ashe said.

"Then sue me, not that you'll get much from it though."

"Can you two stop please? That won't get us out of here." Diaz piped up.

"Do you have any suggestions on how we're getting out, because if you don't then mind your own business."

"You never had any faith in me Taylor. Just you wait." Diaz said and soon, the package on the table began to shake before falling to the ground, where something inside it ripped through the packaging. A tiny droid crawled its way to them and latched onto the cell door and after tinkering with it a bit, unlocked it.

Diaz and Taylor walked out amd pocketed the droid. "What about us?" Ashe asked.

Taylor acted like she was deep in thought. "I don't know, what about you?" she said.

"Let us out."

"And why would I do that?" she asked before getting pushed aside by Diaz, who unlocked the cell door himself. "Hey what are you doing?"

"Helping them." Diaz said flatly "So now, they owe us a favor."

Taylor didn't seem to agree but the two of them left anyway. Ashe and McCree stepped out of their cell and grabbed their stuff from the evidence bin, mainly McCree's revolver and Ashe's keys. Once the coast was clear, they got in her car and drove back to the estate.

Once they got back, they saw the mess in the dining hall, but the thing that haunted them the most was Reginald's corpse. McCree grabbed his bag and began to pack his stuff when Ashe stopped him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm leaving. I caused you enough trouble as it is."

"No you didn't Jesse." Ashe said "In fact, you even saved my life. Besides, with Reginald dead, we're a bit short staffed."

"So what are you saying?"

"Do you want a job?"

/

Reaper stood in front of an incapacitated Winston, pinned under his own ship. With his shotguns raised and ready to fire, he took a step forward and saw Winston's glasses. Having always thought that a monkey needing glasses ridiculous, he crushed them under his boot which pissed Winston enough that he was able to lift the ship and smack him across the room.

Before he could recover, Winston landed in front of him with his tesla cannon. The sudden jolt of electricity broke his concentration and stopped from completely turning into a wraith. With the parts of him that weren't smoke slowly burning away, he decided to fall back, thhe parts of him that were smoke passing through the vents of the old overwatch base.

Defeated, he made his way to the Talon ship they had stashed there beforehand and flew back to base where Doomfist, Sombra and Widowmaker approached him just as his physical form had just finished taking shape again. "What happened?" Doomfist asked "Where is the rest of the strike team?"

"What do you think happened? Those incompetent bastards couldn't even hold off a monkey long enough for me to have been able to do my job."

"If you're so great then why couldn't you stop that monkey?" Sombra asked "Quick to blame anyone but yourself aren't we Gabe?"

"Don't call me that." Reaper threatened "You read a person's file and you think you already know them. We may work together but that's it. All that family bullshit overwatch had back in the day doesn't apply here. You're only here because I need you, don't you forget that."

With that, Reaper stormed off to his office. After stowing his cloak, he sat down behind his desk where he opened his laptop to check if the device he placed on the overwatch database had transferred any information to them.

Nothing.

He slammed his fist on the desk in anger. That fucking monkey had donne nothing but interfere with his plans since he arrived. His musings were interrupted when Sombra mayerialized in front of him and slapped him across the face. Despite how pissed he already was, he knew he deserved it but that didn't stop him from acting like he had done nothing wrong.

"What the fuck was that Reyes?"

"I have no idea what-"

"Don't start with me Reyes. You act as if we were begging to work here. Don't forget that the only reason I let you use me is because I get something out of it."

"I don't like you, you don't like me and we're only using each other. I thought we already established that." Reaper said "What do you want?"

Sombra dropped a folder on the table. "A potential recruit."

Reaper saw the deadlock gang sign and dismissed the idea immediately. "No. I already picked up one ingrate from that pitiful excuse for a gang, I don't need another."

"She's different." Sombra said "She and McCree founded the deadlock gang, but she was never caught. And more importantly, she's still at large. Her mind wasn't corrupted by the morals that overwatch shoved down the throat of our favorite cowboy. She's basically your prodigy if he had joined Talon. I'm leaving the file here, just think about it."

Sombra left, through the door this time, and Reaper opened thhe folder. In it were all the recent grand heists of the gang but in all the files, there was always one name that stood out.

 _Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe._


	3. Chapter 3

McCree's phone buzzed on the nightstand by his bed, eliciting a groan from him as he reached for it. Why was his alarm so early anyway? For the life of him, he couldn't even remember if he had set an alarm in the first place. Or why. He went to put it on snooze but it just kept buzzing. He tried again, which somehow made the buzzing worse. Nearly throwinghis phone in anger, he remembered how his alarm clock back in the old overwatch base did the same whenever obe of the higher ups sent a message and wanted to make sure that it wouldn't be ignored.

He unlocked it and sure enough, Winston had sent him a message though it didn't say much. Just a bunch of numbers with _We need you back_ written on top of it. If his memory served him right, he was looking at the coordinates of watchpoint Gibraltar. He stared at the message again. Was overwatch getting back together? He thought about going back, how it would be like to see everyone after all these years. How it would be like to see his old friends and co workers. How it would be like to see Angela…

Shaking his head, he forced his mind to think of something else. He saved the message and put the phone back on the desk. After a quick shower, he went down to a diner near his motel for breakfast. Usually he didn't spend as much as he did, but his last bounty was a big one, and the paycheck proved it. Bacon and eggs with a slice of apple pie, his mouth watered at just the thought of it. Just like his mother used to make. McCree exhaled in frustration. Two decades after that night that changed his life forever. It didn't hurt nearly as much anymore, but it still hurts.

He sat down and placed his order, sitting peacefully as he waited for it to be delivered to him. "Come here often?" a voice called for him from behind "I haven't seen you here before."

McCree turned around and saw a latina in all purple clothes. Half of her head was shaved and the other half went down to her shoulder, with purple highlights at the end. She had different electronics were augmented into her body. Back in the day, that woman would have looked peculiar, but with everything that has been happening for the past few decades, that was actually considered normal.

"I could say the same to you." He replied, which the woman took as an invitation to sit over with him.

"You're right." The woman said "I've never been here before, but after I've seen what the residents here look like, I wish I'd gone sooner."

"Flattering. What do you want?"

"So just because I give you a compliment, I already want something from you?"

"Well its either that, or you actually do like me." McCree said "But you don't look like the sort that would make the first move. You look more like someone who enjoys making people fall for her then shatter their heart just for shits and gigles."

The woman seemed somewhat surprised, but she kept the act up anyway. "Fine, I do want something." She said flirtatiously "I want you."

McCree's order came and the waitress placed the plate in between them. McCree took a bite before responding. "Like I said, flattering, but I've dealt with women like you before so either tell me what you really want or just leave me alone because you're wasting both of our time."

"Straight to the point. I like you." The woman said "I'll tell you when you wake up."

The woman reached to inject him with something, only to be shocked when the needle hit the metal of McCree's prosthetic arm. He noticed and chuckled at her. "You haven't done this before, haven't you?"

In anger, the woman threw the plate of food at McCree and lunged at him with the steak knife but McCree kicked the table upwards and she lost her balance, falling to the ground with a grunt. McCree wrestled the knife from her hands and pinned her to the ground. He pulled out the syringe from his metal arm and upon seeing this, the woman began to squirm.

"Let's see what this is shall we?" he said as he injected it into the woman.

Slowly, the fight in the woman left and she started to go limp. "Sedative?" McCree asked, to which the woman drunkenly swore at him. Tossing the needle aside, he put pressure on the nearly unconscious woman's neck. "When you wake up, I want you to tell whoever sent you to fuck off."

"Tell him yourself." The woman woozily said before passing out.

McCree took a moment to process what she said and he nearly caught a shotgun blast because of it. Diving behind the overturned table and reached for his holster, barely grabbing his revolver before another shotgun blast tore through the chair he hung it on. Lobbing a flashbang over the table, he ran for the window and jumped through it barely dodging another shot.

He got up and fired at his attacker, only to see his bullets go through him in a puff of black smoke. McCree panicked. He knew only one person that was able to do that, and that person was not to be taken lightly.

"Come out kid. Don't make me take your other arm off."

"Haven't seen your face in a while Reyes." McCree said, jumping behind one of the hover bikes for cover "Any reason as to why I'm seeing it now?"

"Just passing by. None of your business."

"It became my business the minute you began to shoot up the fucking diner!" McCree yelled as he counted how much rounds his revolver was worth.

"I've been counting kid." Reaper said, beating him to the punch "You have one round left, and we both know you need way more than that."

McCree scrambled around, begging for an escape as he heard Reaper slowly marching towards him. Patting himself down for any spare rounds of ammunition, McCree came up empty-handed though he did find something else, and if he played his cards right one bullet was all he needed. From behind him, Reaper kicked the hover bike, sending him to the ground where Reaper proceeded to press his boot against his chest.

"This is what I should have done twenty years ago." Reaper said, raising his shotgun.

"You're forgetting something Reyes." McCree said "I always have back up."

Behind them, an engine revved up and Reaper turned around with his guns drawn ready for a threat that was nowhere to be seen giving McCree enough room to wiggle free from his foot. Reaper turned to shoot him but was too late. Having been missed by Reaper's first shot, McCree fired off a shot. Reaper managed to dissipate into smoke but not fast enough and McCree managed to shatter his mask.

With no rounds left, McCree was vulnerable but to his surprise, Reaper didn't take advantage and instead chose to walk, or more specifically float away from him. Tossing aside the keys of the hoverbike he found, he got on his own hoverbike and quickly fled the area before Reaper had any chance to change his mind.

Once he deemed himself far enough, he took his phone out and checked the message Winston had sent. It was only recent, sent just a few hours before he had woken up, and he doubted anything has changed since so if the invite was still good, his choice had already been made for him.

It was time to go home.

/

McCree woke up in the estate's guest room, startled by the sound of gunfire. At first he thought they were under attack again, and the sound of Ashe cussing in anger only served to scare him even more. Quickly throwing on the nearest article of clothing, he ran out following the sounds, heart stopping as Ashe began to yell for Bob. What kind of security would he be if the one he was supposed to be protecting had died while he was asleep?

"Elizabeth!" he desperately called out "Elizabeth are you ok? Where are you?"

"Calm down Jesse, I'm fine." Ashe said from the estate's lush greenery where she had set up a table with various targets, most of which were still standing. In her hands was the lever action rifle he had seen mounted above the fireplace when he first arrived. Next to her was Bob, holding a box of .45 Colt the rifle was chambered in.

"What are you doing?"

"Well whatever it is, I'm clearly doing it wrong."

"I'm serious Elizabeth." McCree said "Why are you doing this, and in the morning nonetheless."

Ashe exhaled and placed the rifle on the table. "While I was waiting for breakfast in the dining hall, I saw one of the tables that had a dent on one of its corners. The corner in which that police officer slammed Reginald's head in. You responded way quicker than any of the security team. If I hadn't brought you here I would have died that night. I hate feeling helpless so I decided to learn how to protect myself."

"Learning how to shoot a gun isn't all there is to self defense Elizabeth." McCree said "Before anything you must learn hand to hand combat."

"I have a black belt in jiu-jitsu Jesse. It was one of the many classes I was forced to take." Ashe said "I doubt those skills would be any use to me if my opponent can shoot me before I can close the distance."

"Wasn't shooting one of the classes you took?"

"No. My parents said it isn't ladylike to shoot a gun. They wouldn't even let me near the skeet shooting area. Its pretty clear they wanted a son, but got me instead. They already resented me even before I was born, at least to some degree."

"Damn Elizabeth, I shouldn't have asked."

"Its fine." Ashe said "Just go back to sleep, sorry for waking you."

Instead of turning back, McCree grabbed the rifle, cocked it and took out three glass bottles in quick succession before giving the rifle back to Ashe who seemed to have taken the gesture differently than how McCree meant for it to be.

"No need to show off asshole."

"No, t-that meant that I was going to teach you."

Ashe took the rifle from him. "You could have just told me that." She said, already frustrated from the whole morning of her bullets hitting nothing but dirt. She cocked the rifle and fired, missing her target once again.

"You're holding it wrong." McCree said "If you keep on firing from the hip you won't hit anything. Keep a firm grip with your non firing hand and press the butt of the rifle against your shoulder."

Ashe did as she was told and fired, this time winging one of the bottles. "Getting better." McCree said "Now keep your elbows down and in and let your face fall naturally on thhe stock."

"What?"

McCree approached her. "Here, let me show you."

Ashe was about to offer him the rifle but instead he came up from behind her and placed his hands on hers and fixed her stance for her. For some reason, this distracted her. The gentle touch of his hands, his breath on the back of her neck, it took her mind off of the current task at hand so much so that she almost didn't hear him tell her to fire.

She pulled the trigger and the glass bottle shattered. McCree pivoted to help her aim at another bottle, which also shattered. "There, now try on your own."

Ashe hated herself for it, but she didn't want to be free of McCree's touch. Maybe it was because she never felt the touch of someone, a touch that wasn't meant to hurt her anyway, or maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, she didn't want to let go of that feeling. She didn't have time for that, she had something to do, and after doing everything McCree taught her, she shattered a third bottle.

"Very good." McCree said. He borrowed the rifle and took aim at a training dummy that Ashe had for some reason and cocked the rifle. Ready to fire, he stopped short of actually pulling the trigger annd Ashe noticed.

"Jesse, what's wrong?"

McCree didn't answer, in fact he didn't do anything at all. He just stood there, staring at the dummy, the rifle shaking in his hands. His eyes were tightly shut and when he began to hyperventilate and Ashe panicked, running over to his side. "Jesse? Jesse look at me. Jesus Christ are you ok?"

McCree dropped the rifle annd fell to his knees. He opened his eyes to reveal that he was crying. "I could see her Elizabeth. I could see my mother. I could see her on that dummy, a bullet hole on her fucking forehead. I did that! I killed my mother Elizabeth!"

He cried in his hands. "I should have just died that night."

Ashe knelt next to him and grabbed him by thhe shoulders. "Jesse don't you ever say that, you understand me? Whatever this is, you're going to get through it just fine. I will make sure of that, ok?"

McCree answered her with a tight hug. Behind them, Bob stepped forward but Ashe stopped him. It may have been sudden, but she was never held like that before. She hugged him back just as tightly. It didn't matter to her where he came from. That in another life, they would have been worlds apart. He lost everyone he cared for, and she had been alone her whole life.

They needed each other.

/

"Sir, this is as far as I can take you."

"Its fine." McCree told the taxi driver as he looked outside the window, where there was nothing much to be seen for miles. "I can take it from here."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you planning on doing all the way out here?"

"I'm sorry partner but that information is not mine to disclose." McCree said "How much do I owe you?"

McCree looked at the meter and although it was reasonable for the distance he had traveled, it still shocked him. After paying the fare, he thanked the driver and got off, waiting for the taxi to get far enough before he reached for his phone. He scrolled down to a number that he hasn't contacted in years and sent a message.

' _I got Winston's message. You mind giving me a lift?'_ His message had said. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get a response right away, or if he got a response at all, but as soon as the message was sent, his phone already vibrated with a message notification. He smiled and put his phone back in his pocket. After a while, something appeared in the sky and slowly descended until it was in front of McCree.

He smiled. "Hey Fareeha, missed me?"

Pharah smiled back and gave him a hug. "You said you'd call."

"Sorry, I just didn't know if I was able to talk to you after all these years." McCree said, rubbing the back of his neck "So you finally managed to get that thing to work."

Pharah looked at her jetpack. "Took me a while, but I finally managed to convince my mother that it was safe."

"What about the other thing, were you able to convince her of that?"

"Oh that, yeah I'll never tell her that."

"She'll find out sooner or later Fareeha, and it'll piss her off more if she hadn't heard it from you."

"Whatever." Pharah shrugged "Enough chit chat, the others want to see you again."

Pharah crouched down and McCree looked at her. "Can I trust you not to drop me?"

"Stop being a pussy and just get on."

"That's what you said last time." McCree said as he climbed Pharah, albeit awkwardly since the rockets were already occupying a lot of space on her back. Once he was in a somewhat proper piggyback position, Pharah took off. With his eyes tightly shut, McCree held on for dear life while Pharah seemed to have intentionally go as high as she can just to scare the poor cowboy.

Eventually they finally reached Gibraltar and McCree nearly lied down and kissed the ground by how grateful he was to be back on it. The two of them walked into the base where McCree noted that not much has changed since he was last there and he voiced his thoughts to Pharah.

"There wasn't much to change here. Just a little maintenance to make sure everything still works." Pharah said "Oh and they fixed the medbay since Reyes trashed it."

McCree turned serious. Nearly a decade later and he could still remember every detail of that fateful night. How Reyes turned into what he was, how Reyes shot his arm off and how he left not only overwatch, but Angela as well which was the part of that night that had bothered him the most. The look on her face was what made him reluctant on coming back prior to Winston's recall because he knew that he would have to deal with her, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that just yet.

"Is Angela here already?"

"Yeah but she had to take off again because Jack needed help." Pharah said "He ran into some trouble in Dorado on his way here. They should be back by the end of the day."

"Were you able to talk to her before she left?" McCree asked to which Pharah nodded "Did she say anything about me? Anything at all?"

"It didn't come up. Why, is there something wrong between you two? Well other than the fact that you left without so much as a goodbye that is."

McCree put his face in his hands. "I said something to her before I left."

"From your expression I'm guessing it wasn't a good place to pick up from when you come back."

McCree shook his head. "I was just pissed with what she did to Reyes. She actually went that far to test her research. Testing it on herself was one thing, testing it on someone else, it was too far and in my anger I…I told her that I was done her. With us."

"Wait what?" Pharah stopped walking making McCree stop alongside her "Don't tell me. Don't fucking tell me you broke up with her."

McCree silence only confirmed it and Pharah punched him in the arm. "You dumbass! You know how much that girl loves you."

"I know that Fareeha!" McCree yelled back "I love her just as much, but with everything that happened that night, I wasn't thinking straight. I realized that after I left but I was too ashamed to show my face to her after basically abandoning her."

Pharah and McCree stood outside the mission debriefing room where most of the new arrivals stayed at since Winston wanted to get them acquainted with overwatch before they had to start out. There were even some of the original members of overwatch staying there and the sight of the people he deemed his family made him smile despite his conversation with Pharah earlier.

"Hey Genji!" McCree called out as he approached the cyborg.

Genji turned towards him though instead of approaching him with open arms, like McCree was towards him, Genji struck him in the gut, making McCree double over.

"What the hell?" McCree gasped out.

"That was for leaving without a goodbye." Genji said since he, just like everyone else, only found out McCree left by the time he was already long gone.

"If I said goodbye to everyone I wouldn't be able to leave, you know that." McCree said "I understand why you hit me though. I deserve it."

"You deserve way more than that." Genji said before pulling the cowboy in for a hug "But for now, I'm glad you're back."

McCree hugged his friend back. "Thanks."

"Hey!" a voice called for McCree and when he turned around to face it, he got a slap from a rather angry Egyptian "After all I've done for you, you just disappear without so much as a word?"

"Sorry Ana." McCree said as he rubbed his face.

"Well?" Ana asked "Am I just a stranger to you now?"

McCree pulled his old captain in for a hug and she gladly accepted. "Lord almighty Jesse, you look like shit."

"Yeah, about that. I kind of had a run in with…with Reyes."

Ana's expression turned grim as she sighed. "Never in a million years would I have thought that Gabriel would turn on us."

"That wasn't Gabriel, Ana. The Gabriel we know died that night. Whoever Angela brought back, that person is just wearing his body."

"I've been telling myself that too." Ana said "Go to the medbay, get yourself checked out. Oh and Jesse," McCree raised an eyebrow at her "its nice to have you back."

McCree went to the medbay, unsure of who will treat him if Angela wasn't there. Or if he wanted to be treated by anyone other than the Swiss angel herself. He had noticed that Moira was nowhere to be seen and he couldn't help but think if she was either dead or she ran off with Reyes, both of which were very terrible in their own right.

"Please take a seat I'll be with you shortly." McCree was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the somewhat short Asian woman that greeted him as he entered the medbay until she spoke. In fact, said Asian woman was familiar to him, he'd seen her before, he just couldn't place his finger on it. The woman reached to grab something on her desk and when he saw the Ecopoint Antarctica logo on her jacket, he remembered.

"Mei?" he asked, which got the woman's attention. She turned around, now fully seeing his face she recognized him as well.

"Jesse? Jesus I haven't seen you in forever."

"I could say the same for you." McCree said "I thought you were dead. We all did."

"I thought I was too." Mei said "When all the food and water in the ecopoint ran out, I just crawled into a corner and gave up. I got Winston's message and I went for it, figured that dying out there was way better than just sitting on my ass, waiting to die."

"Shit Mei…"

Mei beamed up, suddenly getting a positive attitude that was so bipolar from how she was just now that it made McCree worry a bit. "Its fine Jesse, I'm here now aren't I?"

"You sure are." McCree smiled at her and Mei gave him a hug. Although McCree was never really close with her, having only interacted whenever she was with Angela on the brief time she had before she left for ecopoint, he hugged back.

"I didn't know you were medical staff."

"I'm not, but I picked up a few things from Angela so I decided to help out as much as I can."

After talking for a while, McCree told Mei he was going to see his old room, mainly because talking about Mercy only served to remind him of how bad he left things off with her. On the way back to the dorms, he passed by the old common room where two of the new recruits were trying to teach Reinhardt how to play a video game. McCree chuckled at the german gaint as he yelled in both anger and laughter.

He finally reached his room and entered it, seeing that everything was just where he left it. He looked at his watch and realized he woke up way earlier than he was used to. A few hours of sleep can't hurt, can it? He laid down, the sounds of Reinhardt failing over and over still reaching his room at the end of the hallway. He chuckled, wondering if he would ever be able to drift off to sleep.

It was good to be home.

…

"What the hell was that Reyes?" Moira demanded as Reaper solidified into the Talon mobile base.

"He got away." Reaper said, pushing past her as he walked towards his quarters.

"Come back here Reyes I am still talking to you." Moira called out, which only made Reaper flip her the bird. Annoyed and enraged, Moira attacked him, the purple beams making him writhe in pain as they attached themselves to his body.

Reaper fell to his knees and Moira approached him, making the connection a lot stronger. "I'm not just some other runt you picked up from the streets Gabriel." She threatened "Treat me with the respect I deserve or-"

Reaper backhanded Moira once she was too close and broke the connection as she stumbled backwards. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up before slamming her against the wall. "Or you'll what? Leave? Go ahead because you're just like all the other fuckwits we work with. I. Don't. Need. You. We're all here because we need something. We're not family, we're not friends. If you want any of that, go back to overwatch because there is no room for that shit here. You understand me?"

Moira clawed at his hands but Reaper only tightened his grip around her neck.

"Gabriel…p-please." Moira stuttered as she began to turn blue.

Reaper slammed her against the wall again before letting go. Moira slumped to the ground and Reaper walked away. He reached his quarters where Sombra was waiting for him, her feet on perched on his desk. "Hello there Gabe."

Reaper groaned at her. "How much more of you do I have to deal with?"

"Wow, not even a hello?"

"What do you want now Colomar?" he demanded "And put your fert down before I break your legs in half."

Sombra rolled her eyes but she did get up and walked out the room, beckoning Reaper to follow. "We may not have managed to kill McCree, for _some_ reason…"

"Watch it." Reaper warned.

Sombra raised her hands in defense. "…but we did get something better."

The two of them reached the airlock, where there were screams of pain that can be heard through the door.

"What is this exactly?"

"The others caught a member of the deadlock gang." Sombra said "Amelie is in there right now, torturing him for more information on their leader. They've been in there for a while so if we're lucky Amelie should be-"

The door to the airlock opened and Widowmaker emerged, tossing aside a bloody knife as she wiped blood off of herself. "Just rewatch the camera feed, I wasn't able to note the information he gave me. I was too busy."

"With what, I wonder." Sombra said "You want a copy of the feed? Human suffering is clearly a turn on for you."

Amelie gave her the finger as she walked away. Sombra laughed before turning back to Reaper. "So, when are we going to make our move?"

From inside, the gang member groaned, begging for them to let him go. Reaper groaned before pressing a button on the wall, and the airlock opened, making the man scream as he fell from the ship. "Tell the pilot we have a change of course." Reaper said.

"We're going back to Deadlock Gorge."


	4. Chapter 4

/

(Roughly a month after the break in incident)

Ashe looked over the many food choices in the supermarket. Sure the homecooked meals prepared by the kitchen staff were good, but after eating them her whole life, they started to lose their appeal.

"Hey, found what you're looking for?" McCree asked as he approached her, two baskets filled with food in his hands.

"I told you Jesse, I'm very picky." Ashe said "I also told you you didn't have to come with me and yet here you are. So stop complaining and wait."

"I wanted to come with you. What kind of bodyguard would I be if I didn't?" McCree asked "Besides, you let that omnic come with you so I figured you didn't mind." He said, looking over at Bob who managed to knock over another pyramid of stacked fruits, much to the dismay of one of the employees.

"First of all, you're security staff. That means you're in charge of taking care of the house and making sure it and everything in it is safe." Ashe said "Bob on the other hand, is my actual bodyguard which means whether I like it or not, he goes wherever I go."

"Even to the bathroom?"

"Jesse!" Ashe yelled, though she couldn't help but smile as she punched the man in front of her in the arm. "Go back home and watch over the estate."

"Those are just material things Elizabeth." McCree said "I'd rather protect something way more valuable."

That line caught Ashe off guard and she found herself blushing at the man's charm, the contrast of her white hair only making it even more obvious. Thankfully, even though he was aware of his affect on her, McCree chose not to say anything. He grabbed the food that Ashe was finally able to choose and carried it for her to the counter.

"Someone's a gentleman."

"Well you're the one paying for everything I bought so I may as well just carry it for you."

Ashe chuckled as she pulled her wallet out. She paid for it and McCree got ready to take everything to the car when Ashe stopped him. "Its fine Jesse, Bob can do it."

"You sure?"

"We parked at the very edge of the parking lot Jesse, do you really want to carry it all the way."

"Fair enough. Here you go man." McCree said as he handed one of the plastics to Bob who just looked at him as he picked up the rest of the plastics and walked out the door. "I don't think he likes me very much." He whispered to Ashe once the omnic had left the building.

"I think he's warming up to you." Ashe said "You're still alive aren't you?"

"Being told not to kill me and actually not wanting to kill me are two different things. I can tell that he's just waiting for me to give him a reason to kill me."

"Give it some time Jesse, Bob is actually very nice. At least as nice as an omnic can be."

"So why do you treat him like shit then?" McCree asked.

"I'm like that to everyone. At least at first anyway, the ones I still treat like that are the ones I actually like."

"So you like me then?"

Ashe scoffed. "In your dreams Jesse. No matter how close you think we are, at the end of the day, you're just security staff."

McCree and Ashe walked over to the waiting area as they waited for Bob to put the groceries in the car and drive the car to them. Ashe sat patiently but McCree was restless by her side, changing his sitting position every now and again.

"Bob is a slow omnic Jesse." Ashe said, finally annoyed by McCree's constant checking of his watch.

"Yeah but he left like ten minutes ago."

"You're seventeen Jesse, not seven. Quit whining."

"But I'm bored."

"Well then go over to the counter to see if the lady there has a coloring book or something." Ashe said, meaning for it to be a joke but it came out sounding more motherly than she wanted it to be, and McCree took advantage.

"Fine then mom." He said as he got up.

"You're actually going to do it?"

"What? No, I'm going to take a piss." He said before leaving her alone.

Ashe watched him walk away for a bit before turning back to her magazine with the intent to continue reading her article, only to have her attention stolen once more when to masked and hooded figures entered the store, fired a shot into the air and yelled for everyone to get down on the ground. Ashe, along with everyone else complied while one of the assailants commanded the people at the counter to put everything from the register inside the bag.

The other one was looking around, examining everyone in the room. Ashe did her best not to stand out, but the thief spotted her anyway and approached her. "You, get up now." The thief yelled, revealing through her voice that she was female.

"I don't want any trouble."

"Nobody here does, you're just unlucky enough that I chose to give it to you."

She grabbed Ashe and dragged her along, yelling at her companion to hurry up. He yelled back at her, revealing that he was male through his voice as well. Ashe knew she heard those voices before, and yet she couldn't remember from where, even if her life depended on it, and in this case, it actually might. He instructed her to drag Ashe to wherever they had parked and to bring the car here. The man turned around to continue raiding the cash register and got a punch from McCree, one hard enough to send him to the ground.

McCree charged at the other thief who saw him just in time. She raised her gun and fired it at McCree, sending wire to wrap themselves around his body before electrifying themselves. McCree yelled as the voltage surged through his body and he fell to the ground.

"We're taking him too." She said.

The woman dragged Ashe with her while the man carried an incapacitated McCree over his shoulder. With a gun pressed to her back, Ashe was forced to tell her captors where they had parked, forced to watch as they shot Bob with the same gun they used on McCree, the electric current temporarily shutting him down, and was forced to drive them out if there.

When the feeling came back in McCree's limbs, he sat up and saw the gun of his captor placed on the seat next to him while its owner was looking away. He debated in his head on whether or not he should go for it but that thought was immediately shut down.

"Don't even think about it Jesse."

"How did you-, why do you know my name?"

"Oh sorry," she said before taking her mask off "how rude of me."

"Taylor?" McCree asked, shocked but annoyed that he hadn't recognized her.

"In the flesh." Taylor said "I'd apologize for shooting you but you decked Diaz pretty hard back there so I'll just call us even."

In the passenger seat, Diaz took his mask off to rub his jaw. "Thanks for **that** by the way, you asshat."

"I'm the asshat? You're the one dragging us through the parking lot!"

"We're claiming that favor you owe us without making it look like you two were accomplices." Taylor said "You should be thanking us."

"Thank you?!"

"You're welcome." Diaz said before checking his phone "Make a left here Ashe."

For some reason, Ashe obeyed and the minute they rounded the corner, came face to face with a police road block, guns pointed at their windshield.

"Keys out of the ignition and step out with your hands up or we'll be forced to open fire." One of the officers said through a megaphone.

"Ashe, don't forget you two are still wanted for assaulting an officer and breaking out of the precinct. If you let them catch us, they'll throw the two of you in the back of a squad car as well."

"I know, I know." Ashe said as she reached for a spare set of keys. She rolled down her window and raised her arm out to show it to the police officers.

"Good, now get out. Slowly."

Ashe threw the keys in front of the police barricade and put the car in reverse, tires screeching as they drove out of there. The police fired at them, the bullets cracking the windshield but none of them went through. Ashe jerked the wheel and turned the car around before speeding down the road and into the highway, where they used the traffic to their advantage.

Diaz ran his finger through the cracks from the other side of the windshield, amazed because if it weren't for the actual marks on it, it was as if the windshield was never shot at all. "Any reason the windows are bulletproof Ashe?"

"My parents built and run an empire that makes them so much money that the account I drained last month for that police officer got filled back up in like, a week." Ashe said "You don't get to the top without making a few enemies. My parents made a lot of them so now they're paranoid, hence the bulletproof windows."

A police car rammed them from behind, cutting off their conversation. Ashe looked in the rear view mirror to see the car back up then ram them again. The car backed up, getting ready to ram them again and when it sped up, Ashe swerved out of the way. When the police car went past them, Ashe cut across three lanes and through the divider so now they were on the other side of the highway where she cut across three more lanes so she can take the next exit, the traffic caused by her actions causing traffic that made it impossible for the police cars to follow them.

Ashe started to head back when Taylor tapped her on the shoulder. "Don't you think your estate would be the first place they'd look?"

"Not really. Mom and Dad's lawyers are so good that the police are too scared to arrest anyone within the estate. That happened one time with one of their friends and their lawyer not only got the charges dropped, she even got the policeman charged for assault."

"Damn, your parents are dicks." Taylor said, which got her a thump in the arm from Diaz.

"Tell me about it." Ashe said "I doubt they even knew what's been happening to me for the past four weeks. Or if they care."

They drove in silence after that, only speaking up when they finally pulled up to Ashe's mansion. Diaz and Taylor grabbed their stuff, including the money they stole, and got out of the car.

"Hey, uh…sorry about your omnic. He can make it back here can't he?" Taylor said, rubbing the back of her head. She reached inside her bag and pulled out a small stack of money and offered it to Ashe. "For your troubles."

Ashe just stared at the woman in front of her. "What?"

"I'm rich, remember?"

Taylor awkwardly put the stack back in the bag. "Weird flex, but ok." She said "We'll see you again soon."

"I doubt that." McCree said.

"Yee of little faith Jesse, yee of little faith." Taylor said "Thanks again." The two of them ran one last check of their belongings before leaving through the estate's back gate. Once the two of them were gone, Ashe turned around and walked back into the mansion, acting as if all the events in the past half hour hadn't happened.

"Elizabeth where are you going?" McCree asked "Aren't we going to report this?"

"No we're not Jesse. Like it or not, Diaz was right. We're still wanted, the minute we walk into the police station, we'll have cuffs on our wrists."

"So we're just walking away? You do realize that by doing so we just let them get away with it."

Ashe turned to face him, and in all seriousness she said: "Get away with what?"

…

After getting the items she bought from the pile of groceries that McCree set on the dining table, Ashe went up to her room. For some reason, she felt jittery. She knew it was probably just the adrenaline from being in a car chase earlier, but it should have worn off by now. No, this was different. It felt…satisfying. For some reason, she found herself intoxicated with the feeling of what she had just done.

 _No Elizabeth. Don't even think about it._ She told herself, but it was no use. She couldn't think of anything but that, and how it made her felt. The room suddenly felt hotter and Ashe figured a shower could help clear her head.

"Hey Elizabe-oh shit!" Ashe heard McCree yell before shutting door behind her.

At first, Ashe was curious as to why that was McCree's reaction but then she realized her top was already off when he entered. Her face turned a deep crimson as she covered herself, though it was useless now since McCree was already outside of the room, and since he had already seen them.

"Jesse don't you know how to knock?!" she yelled, trying to bury her shame in anger.

"Fuck, I'm sorry! I…I'm sorry." McCree yelled through the door before scampering back to his own room.

/

"Are you sure that's where she is?"

"This was the last location we tracked her to before she went offline." Winston said "That was a few days ago. Chances are she's being transported along with some high grade military equipment. I know it's a longshot but if we don't go for it now, we might never see her again."

McCree looked at the map on the giant screen in front of him. "Well I'll be damned. Of all the places in the world it had to be there." He said as Winston zoomed in a particular spot on the map.

Route 66.

"I know that's where your old gang is but you know the area better than anyone here. I don't want to put you in this position but we really don't have a choice here."

"Its fine, I understand." McCree said "Have a ship ready for me, I'll just get my things then I'm leaving."

Winston nodded and McCree turned to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot. Here, take this." Winston said before tossing something to McCree. He caught it mid air and examined it. At first glance, it looked like a guitar pick, but the glowing blue light in the middle suggested that it was way more valuable. "Just place it on her, it will take care of the rest."

McCree tipped his hat and left, running into Pharah on the way to the hangar. "Going somewhere?"

"I'm going to get Echo back. Winston says she's somewhere near Route 66, being transported on a military train."

"And you were planning on doing that on your own?" Pharah asked, arms crossed to which McCree just shrugged her off.

"I did it before didn't I?"

"That was a commuter train Jesse. This is different." Pharah said "Not to mention your Deadlock friends are still at large in the area."

"I'll figure something out. If anything, I'll just use them to get the train and just steal Echo once they do."

"That's the dumbest idea you've ever had Jesse." Pharah stopped him "What if they can't stop the train? Or if you can't steal Echo back? Or if they don't actually, you know, show up?"

McCree waved Pharah off and continued walking. "Relax Fareeha, if I know Ashe, and I do, she won't pass up an opportunity like this."

"Still, its too dangerous to do this by yourself."

McCree sighed. He knew there was no getting rid of Pharah once her mind was set to something. He groaned. "Fine. Get your gear and meet me at the hangar."

Pharah turned around to head for the armory, realized how stupid she was then ran back for the hangar, just in time to see McCree inside a ship that had just taken off. He looked out the window to see Pharah yelling at him. "Sorry Fareeha." He muttered to himself as the ship left Gibraltar.

Usually on a flight that long, McCree would have his feet on the table and his hat draped over his face as he slept, but this time he found himself holding an encrypted tablet, sending a message an old number he knew all too well. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew this was irresponsible, but ever since Ashe had managed to get all the gangs in Deadlock Gorge, hell all the gangs in the southwest, there were so many anonymous tips flying everywhere that a message from an unknown number eventually became part of the norm.

 _Route 66._

 _High grade military weapon transport._

 _12:00 Noon._

His message was simple, but he knew it was enough to get the gang leader's attention. Now all he had to do was wait. He managed to doze off for a bit, the ship's omnic pilot waking him up once they had landed. He thanked the pilot and stepped off the plane, the air he had been breathing for his entire childhood life suddenly feeling foreign to him.

Why was he so anxious? He had done way more dangerous things than what he was about to do now, but in all those situations he always managed to keep a cool head, so why was now any different? Maybe it was the thought of seeing Ashe after all these years, of seeing all his former gang members after he had stabbed them in the back. Sure, it was neither his fault, nor his choice to betray them, it didn't change the fact that, well, he betrayed them.

He made his way to the diner under the train tracks to wait for the gang to stop the train, and to get a taste of the food that defined his childhood once more. The coffee still tasted like boiled dirt, but the apple pie was so heavenly that one bite nearly made him forget why he was there in the fist place.

Thankfully the explosion of the train tracks reminded him.

McCree sighed. Maybe he would have time to finish that pie later. He stood up, left his payment on the table, grabbed his revolver and stepped out of the double doors and into the smoke outside.

…

McCree took a step back to marvel at the robotic figure before him. He helped her up and she held his prosthetic, examining his hand in hers. "What happened?"

"That's a story for another time." McCree said "I got a call. They're getting the band back together. They want me, but they need you."

Echo nodded and McCree turned for the hoverbike parked nearby. "Jesse," she called out "where are you going?"

"I have some business to attend to." McCree said "Say hi to the monkey for me."

"Monkey?" Echo asked with a chuckle.

McCree chuckled back. "Scientist. Whatever."

McCree started the bike and sped off into the highway, telling Winston over the comms to get the ship to come pick Echo up where he left her, and that he had to take care of something before he'd go back himself. Once he got off the comms and drove in silence for a while, he found his anxiety coming back although this time, he knew why.

The deadlock gang wasn't the only thing that made him stay away from home for so long. He knew that the minute he stepped foot back in this place that he couldn't leave without doing the one thing he had been putting off for a long time. He had been mentally preparing himself for it for a while, knowing that he'd have to go back sooner or later, but that didn't change how hard it was going to be.

Passing by a tied up Ashe and Bob on a payload, and speeding past them as Ashe yelled at him calmed his nerves a bit, but he was still anxious. As he got closer, the voice in the back of his head kept getting louder, telling him it wasn't too late to catch up to the ship but he just pushed those thoughts aside. He was doing this now. Period.

He pulled up to his destination and stopped the bike. Walking inside, he sighed once he found what he was looking for. "Hey mom. Hey dad."

He stared at the two tombstones in front of him, the names of his parents engraved on them along with the year they were born up to the night they died. _That_ night. "I hope that wherever you two are, that you are happy. If you can see me right now, I just want to let you know that I love you guys. That I miss you, that I…I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me too since, well, I'm having trouble forgiving myself."

McCree let a tear shed as he stood there in silence, as the memories of that night came flooding back. His mourning was interrupted when he heard some rustling in the background. Rustling that was close enough to make him to put a hand on the grip of his holstered revolver, ready to whip it out should the situation call for it.

"Scared McCree? Don't tell me you believe in ghosts."

McCree sighed and let go of his revolver. "I'm not in the mood for this. Have some honor and let a man grieve in peace."

"You're talking about honor? You abandon the gang then show up years later and use us. Where's the honor in that?"

The fact that a second voice had said that made McCree wonder how many hostiles there were. Still, he had no intention of taking them on. "What do you want?"

"First of all, tell us where Ashe is." A third voice demanded.

"I left her tied to a payload next to her butler. What's left of him anyway." McCree said "Where that payload is headed though, well that's beyond me."

"You've got balls McCree, I'll give you that. Knowing you're not making it out of here alive and yet you can still talk like that." A fourth voice said.

"How are you so sure about that?" McCree said as he heard the four gang members began to approach him.

"You're outnumbered McCree." One of the gang members said as he stepped closer and spat on the graves of McCree's parents. "Now get up and drop your weapon or your body won't get the chance to be buried along side them."

McCree grit his teeth in anger but complied regardless, slowly standing up and removed his revolver from its holster. He discreetly pulled the hammer back before dropping it and it discharged, shooting the man who defiled his parent's grave in the foot. As he fell to the ground, McCree went for the nearest attacker, disarming him and using him as a shield once the other gang members opened fire, essentially gunning him down in cold blood.

McCree grabbed the man's gun and blew one of the gang members away, unloading the two shots of the sawed off into her chest. He tossed the corpse he was using as a shield to another gang member which threw his aim off long enough for McCree to close the distance and snap the man's neck. Once the other members were dispatched, he turned his attention to the last remaining member, who was bleeding from his foot as he tried to crawl away.

He kicked the man in the gut before walking over to where an open grave was being dug. "You need to learn to respect the dead." He said as he grabbed the shovel "Because one day you'll get to meet them." McCree kicked the man in the gut once more before beating him to death.

/

Not much sleep was gotten that night in the estate, though for completely different reasons. McCree laid in his bed, the memory of walking in on Ashe kept creeping its way into his mind. Holy fuck was he getting fired. If he was being completely honest with himself, he was acting more like Ashe's friend instead of her employee. There were times that he would overstep his boundaries, but she just shrugged it off, this was different. It was worse.

"Jesse can you come to my room please?" Ashe asked through the intercom.

There it was. He might as well pack his bags now since chances are she's calling him up there to let him go, if Bob wasn't there waiting to tear his limbs off, that is. He made his way up there, his heart beating faster once he got closer. He reached her door and knocked, something he should have done in the first place.

"Come in." Ashe said. Even through the door he could tell she was serious.

McCree entered, already apologizing before he even got through the door. "Look Elizabeth I just want to apologize for a while ago. I also want to apologize for the way I had been acting-"

"Don't worry about it Jesse." Ashe said "You smoke don't you?"

"If its not allowed then I-"

"Jesus Christ Jesse, calm down you're not getting fired now just answer the damn question." Ashe said, annoyed.

McCree guilty looked away. "Yes, I do."

"What do you do if you get the urge to smoke. Like when you're body is yelling at you to put a cigar in your mouth. How do you make it stop?" Ashe asked, sounding slightly desperate.

"I don't. I just give in to the urge and have a smoke."

Ashe stayed silent, thinking something over. "Ok, that's all." She said and after apologizing one last time, McCree left. She waited for a bit to make sure he couldn't hear her as she pulled out a phone and a slip of paper that Taylor had given her while McCree's back was turned earlier. She dialed the number into the phone, and after three rings, the person on the other end answered.

"Hello?"

"Taylor, its me."

"Really? Ok then, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Ashe was involuntarily tapping her foot as she forced the words she wanted to say out of her. "When's your next job?"

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"I want in."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hold on, let me make sure I heard you correctly." Taylor said, still in disbelief "You want to _join_ us?"

"I'm shocked by the thought myself." Ashe said "I can cover any expenses."

Ashe heard Taylor and Diaz argue in the background a bit before Diaz came on the line. "How can we be sure you actually mean what you're saying? That its not all bullshit?"

"What could I possibly get out of lying to you?"

"A lot of things come to mind." Diaz said "For one, you could have made a deal with the police. You could turn us in and in exchange they'll drop the charges. You could have teamed up with our enemies. Get revenge for dragging you into this in the first place. Unless you can find a way to prove that you're being for real, I'm not buying it."

"I…I can't prove it to you. At least not right away."

"I'm hanging up now."

"No wait!" Ashe pleaded and although it mad her sound too desperate, it did buy her some time.

She sighed. "Everything I ever had was given to before I was even born. I never had to work for anything, and I know that to someone like you, I sound like a huge asshole right now, but because of that I felt that, well I felt that I don't deserve the things I have, and it kills me inside. The other day, when I helped you escape, I felt alive. Like I was actually working for something. I just want to feel that again. Please."

"You could make a good actress with a sob story like that, but I doubt a sheltered rich kid like you could make a good convict. We know you're one hell of a driver, but what else do you bring to the table?"

"Like I said, I can pay for anything you need."

"You're rich, we get it. You need to do better than that."

"I have been studying every form of martial arts since I was a kid and over the past month I had developed a fairly decent aim." Ashe said "And just like you said, no one expects me to be a criminal so I can act like a victim and turn on anyone that tries to help."

"Ok, you've caught my attention. What if-hey!" Diaz was thankfully cut off when Taylor wrestled the phone from his hands.

"What about your boyfriend?" Taylor asked "What does he have to say in all this?"

Despite hating herself for it, the thought of her and McCree being together made her blush, but now was not the time for that. There were more important things at hand. "Nothing. He doesn't know that I'm doing this."

"You can't be serious Ashe. You know how big of a risk you're making us take here?"

"He won't be a problem. I promise."

Taylor and Diaz argued in the background but they eventually reached an agreement. Taylor got back on the line.

"He better not be."

/

Sombra ducked just as an empty crate flew over her head. She turned around and saw a pissed off Reaper, but she didn't care. She yelled at him anyway.

"What the fuck Reyes?"

"She should have been here!" Reaper yelled "We would already have her if that goddamned cowboy hadn't fucked everything up!"

"Relax. Ameile and Akande are searching the area already. Let's just watch the security cameras again, maybe we can find out where that payload is headed."

Reaper walked through the rubble of the wreckage, wading through it to see what he can salvage. "Are you sure she's even worth all this trouble?"

"This woman brought all the gangs in Deadlock, hell in the entire southwest together. She built an empire bigger than her parents' before she was even twenty. We need someone like that, not to mention how many allies we can get if we get her on board."

"That's a big 'if' Sombra. If she doesn't join us, then what? We would have wasted all these resources for nothing."

"She'll join us Reyes. Trust me."

Just then, Doomfist shattered the ground as he landed in front of them, with Widow swinging in from behind him. "We found her." Doomfist said "The payload she was tied to had been intercepted by the police. She was being taken into custody when we arrived."

Reaper groaned as he pulled his shotguns out. "Come on then, let's waste even more resources."

…

"Get off me!"

Ashe struggled as two officer tried to hold her still enough for a third officer tried to cuff her. She kicked him away and elbowed one of the officers in the chin, which made him loose his grip on her. Ashe freed her hand and socked the last officer. She squared up to them, ready to take them on when she felt something pierce her back and electricity surged through her body.

She fell to the ground, writhing in pain as she was tazed. The officers finally cuffed her and threw her in the back of their squad car. Her ability to speak took its time coming back, and when it did, she yelled at the man who was putting Bob, or rather his parts into the trunk of his SUV.

"Where are you taking him?"

"I'm taking it to evidence lock up." The officer said.

Ashe clenched her fist in anger. Throwing Bob inside a trunk was one thing, calling him an 'it' basically guaranteed that he would be the first person she kills when she gets out of there, which she was confident would be soon. Her gang members knew she was gone by now, and they had plans for situations like these, not to mention she was arrested in her home turf.

The police lost the minute they slapped the cuffs on her wrists.

The escort encountered a road block and Ashe's confidence only grew stronger. "The hell?" the officer driving the squad car asked and his partner radioed the officer in the SUV about the detour.

After turning right, they ran into another roadblock. The escort complied, unknowing that they were being funneled into an ambush. After a few more detours, they ended up in a quiet, somewhat abandoned street and once Ashe saw the glint of a sniper scope perched up on one of the buildings, she knew she was getting out of there.

"You know, its not too late to let me go."

The driver scoffed. "In your dreams."

"Fine, have it your way then." Ashe ducked away from the windows just as the one on the passenger side shattered when an officer took a bullet to head. Covered in his partner's blood, the driver tried to speed away. Another shot was fired off, hitting the hood making the car stall as the engine smoked. The SUV pulled up to their side to shield them, stopping the sniper from getting a clean shot.

Its driver stepped out with his side arm out, firing in the direction from where the shots were coming from. The driver of the car she was in pulled out his pistol and was about to help when Ashe kicked the gun from his hands and his head into the dash where his head was far out just enough that the SUV wasn't able to cover it. His head exploded into a cloud of blood a few seconds later.

Ashe picked up the discarded pistol and fired at the last officer, who moved at the last second so her bullet found the driver's side window instead. Deciding to cut his losses, the officer jumped back in the SUV and drove off. Ashe scrambled to get out and fired at the SUV as it drove away. Most of her shots hit their mark but he still got away once she was empty.

She swore as she threw the pistol to the ground. After getting the keys to her cuffs from one of the corpses, she walked over to the building where the sniper was.

"I've got to hand it to you boys, I've never seen you work so-"

The sight of what was in front of her cut Ashe off mid sentence. Her gang members were all lying on the ground, in the place of the sniper was a woman in a catsuit. She had blue skin and golden eyes but what intimidated Ashe the most was how remorseless the woman seemed after doming two people. Ashe herself had killed her own fair share, but that doesn't mean she was desensitized to the feeling of taking someone else's life. The fact that this woman felt nothing raises the question of how many she had killed.

There were others in the rooftop, one was another woman, her whole body augmented with purple tech while another was a man wielding the doomfist, something she was familiar with, it being something she and McCree had always wanted to steal. The last was a man rocking a black trench coat and skull mask with twin shotguns. That said man was approaching Ashe in a way that made her take a step back as he got closer.

"What the fuck did you do to my gang members?"

"Relax, they're just unconscious. We have been looking for you. We need your help. Do you know this man?" he said, raising a picture.

Ashe examined it and of course it was him. Jesse Fucking McCree. "Yes I know him, why? What's it to you?"

"We're taking down an organization. An organization he just so happens to work for and we need the numbers. Join us and once this is all over, you can have that bastard all to yourself."

"I love the thought of revenge as much as the next person, but you're going to have to do better than that if you want me on board."

The woman in the catsuit spoke up, her accent telling Ashe that she was French. "That organization is the only stopping our organization from doing anything. If you're still with us by then, you can expand your gang to anywhere in the world."

Ashe thought about it. Sure, Deadlock gorge was big in its own right, but the thought of her criminal empire going beyond it was appealing to her. "Alright then, I'm in. But we're getting Bob back first. He was in that SUV that got away, along with all my gear."

"Gear is replaceable." The woman in the catsuit said "Are you seriously going to risk getting caught for an omnic?"

"He's more than an omnic."

"You're right. He's a waste of time if we go back for him."

"Don't talk about him like that." Ashe warned "Either he comes with us, or I'm not."

"We don't have time for-"

"Lacroix that's enough." The man in the trench coat interrupted them before turning to face Ashe "You have one hour and everything we have at your disposal. If you can't pull it off or you get caught, we kill everyone in your gang. You understand?"

Ashe glared at him, trying to hide the fact that she was actually scared under a layer confidence. "I don't need an hour."

The man reached for his comms and told someone on the other end to bring the ship to their rendezvous point. He walked down the stairs and the two women followed him while the man with the doomfist picked up the unconscious bodies of her gang members before he also followed them downstairs.

From the safety of the cloaked Talon ship, Ashe looked at the police station, where the shot up SUV had just arrived. The driver hobbled out to the help of the two police officers that ran to help him. Ashe smirked, taking some satisfaction that she at least hurt the bastard. After seeing Bob and all her gear get unloaded from the truck and brought inside, she turned to the others who were waiting to hear the master plan she had cooked up.

"I need someone to distract the police from the outside and I need help getting Bob back."

"I'll help you get the omnic." The woman they called Sombra said "Akande and Ameile can distract the police. Gabe, just stay here. We need them distracted not killed."

Ashe thought Reaper was going to complain but instead he just shrugged and left to go God knows where. The four of them stepped off the ship and Sombra placed a translocator down.

"Are you sure that can bring all of us back?"

"Nope."

"You should have figured that out before doing this." Widow said "What if it doesn't?"

"Learn to live a little Ameile."

"We won't live at all if it doesn't work." Doomfist interjected "Lacroix is right. We need a backup, just in case."

"We're shooting the place up anyway, if things go sideways lets just shoot our way out."

"You just said we don't need to kill them."

"I can't hear you, I'm invisible." Sombra said, cloaking herself and running down to the station, Ashe right behind her. Doomfist sighed and jumped down, crushing one of the police cars underneath his fist while Ameile shot the windows of the station. Once the police officers' attention was turned to them, Sombra and Ashe hopped out of cover and ran inside.

…

Reaper sat at the ship's common room, impatiently waiting for the others get back. Moira entered thhe room and upon seeing him, her expression turned sour.

"What are you looking at?"

"A piece of shit." Moira said, the events between them the other day still fresh on her mind, and on her neck. "You know we wouldn't be here had you killed McCree when you had thhe chance."

"Don't talk like you know what happened." Reaper said, standing up and approaching her "In fact, don't talk at all. You don't have the right to since all you do is sit around the ship like the lazy bitch you are."

The room echoed with the sound of Moira's hand slapping Reaper's face. He glared at her before grabbing her by the wrists and slamming her against the wall. They stared into each other's eyes, nothing but pure hatred in both of their gaze. Moira wasn't backing out. No matter how much he was pinning her against the wall. No matter how much his body was pressed against hers.

No matter how much his hips were pressed against _that_ area.

Moira let out a small gasp, small enough that Reaper hadn't noticed it. Their sudden closeness made her realize that its been forever since her intimate parts had felt the touch of someone other than her own. Her body was moving on its own accord now, and if he hadn't pushed her off she wouldn't have known that she was actually grinding against him.

"What the fuck?!"

Reyes backed up and his grip on her hand loosened. She yanked her hand free and grabbed his crotch, playing with it until a tent had formed in his pants. "What is going on with you?" he asked as he yanked her hand away from him.

"When was the last time you had sex Gabriel?" Moira asked, her voice needy as she pulled his hand in between her legs.

To her surprise, she felt Reyes undo her pants and pull her underwear to thhe side before inserting two fingers inside her. She gasped as he curled his fingers, making her squirm as he played with her clit. Moira moaned, thanking the stars that he was wearing those dumbass gloves that she had ridiculed him for wearing since it made her feel him that much more.

Reyes inserted a third finger and she let out a loud moan, finding it impossible to keep quiet when the man in front of her was tearing her insides apart.

"Beg." Reyes demanded "Beg like the whore you are."

Moira struggled to form words. The pleasure she was experiencing reduced her to a blubbering mess, accent so thick that it was nearly unintelligible.

"Fook me Gabriel! Fook me hard!"

Reyes pulled his fingers out, undid his pants and thrusted his length into her so hard that it hurt, but goddammit dit it hurt so good. Moira's legs began to wobble and Reyes held her in place, more for his benefit than hers since it meant he could mercilessly pound into her. His hand moved backwards, teasing Moira a bit before shoving two fingers in her asshole.

He synced the movements of his fingers and his length, making sure Moira felt every bit of him as he penetrated her holes simultaniously. Moira's hips began to buck into him and he felt her fingernails dig into his back which only made him thrust harder, faster, watching for her reactions.

And what a reaction it was. Her eyes were rolled to the back of her skull and tongue was dangling out of her open mouth. She wasn't moaning anymore, her breathing was so rapid that all she could do was whimper.

"G-gabriel," she managed to say "I…I can't…I'm going to…"

Moira's ability to speak disappeard when her orgasm crashed into her in a wave of pleasure. Reyes pulled out and now that she was unsupported, Moira slumped down to the ground, eye level with Reyes' length. He grabbed her cheeks and squeezed them.

"Open it." He commanded, and Moira, too high from her orgasm drunkenly obeyed.

He forcefully shoved his length inside her and thrusted harder than he was doing before, so much so that she gagged as he brutally throatfucked her. She grabbed his hips and at first he thought she was going to stop him but instead she pulled him closer, shoving his length further down her throat.

The move caught Reyes off guard and he lost his control. He grunted as he reached his climax, shooting thick, hot ropes of cum down her throat, all of which she gladly swallowed. He felt her lick at the tip, trying to get every last drop of his nectar before she let him pull out.

Reaper zipped up his pants and went to leave when Moira called out to him.

"I hate you Gabriel." She said, her voice raspy.

"Fuck you too." Reaper said, leaving Moira leaning against the wall with her brains fucked out.

/

McCree stepped off the plane and onto Gibraltar's hangar where the first person to meet him was Pharah, who slapped him across the face.

"I deserve that." McCree said.

"You deserve way more than that you asshole." Pharah said before wrapping him in a hug "Thank God you're safe."

"Was there ever any doubt Fareeha?"

Pharah just looked at him. "Yes there were Jesse. There were plenty of doubts. I heard you ran into your old gang."

"That 'run in' was completely intentional Fareeha. They took out the train, I took them out then I took Echo and brought her back here. All according to plan."

"Was it part of your plan to look like shit? Because you do." Pharah said "Come on, lets get you to the medbay, Angela just got back."

"Angela? She's back?"

"Yeah. I literally just said that, now come on so she can treat you already."

"No thanks, I'd rather not." McCree said as he stopped walking.

Pharah groaned and grabbed McCree's hand, pulling him to the medbay. "Whatever happened between you two, you're going to have to face it sooner or later."

"You're one to talk. I bet your mother still doesn't know that you're ga-"

"Don't make me give you a reason to actually to go to the medbay." Pharah warned.

The two of them got ti the medbay where Mercy was just finishing up on one of the newcomers, giving her a sermon on how her indigestion was brought on by an apparent diet that consisted of nothing but mountain dew and doritos. McCree could see that the girl was pretending to listen, though the minute she stepped out of the room, everything Mercy said would disappear from her mind. Like he did whenever Mercy chewed him out about his smoking habits.

Mercy yelled over her shoulder if there were anymore patients left and McCree felt guilty. She was still the same caring, kindhearted person that she had always been, but her tone was different. It wasn't as cheerful as it used to be and he couldn't help but feel responsible for that.

"Hey Angie." He said.

Mercy turned around, her face conveying a million emotions at once. She walked up to him and gave him a slap, harder than the one Pharah had given him. "First Fareeha, then you. Anyone else feel like hitting me today?"

"You asshole!" Mercy yelled "I know we weren't on the best of terms that night but after all we've been through don't you think I deserve a goodbye? I thought Reyes came back for you. I was about to send a search party if Fareeha hadn't told me that you left."

"Wait, you told her?"

"You're not even listening!" Mercy's voice wavered, strained from trying to hold back tears "I had no way of knowing what happened to you. If you were alive or not. Despite what you may think I still care about you. If you had died I would have…"

Mercy couldn't finish her sentence. The thoughts she had during those sleepless night all came flooding back into her mind. She felt McCree wrap her in a hug and she finally broke, shamelessly crying in her former lover's arms. McCree rubbed her head, trying to sooth her. He looked at Pharah, awkwardly shuffling in the background. He gestured that she can leave if she wanted to and she bolted out of there.

"Listen Angela," McCree said softly "I know what I did was wrong. I acted in anger and I hadn't thought about how it would affect you, or anyone else. During all that time to myself though, I realized how much I loved you. I always have and I always will."

Mercy sniffled. "Jesse…"

"Don't say anything. I'm not expecting you to jump into my arms. I don't deserve you anyway. I just wanted to let you know that."

He gave her a kiss on the forehead before getting up and walking out of the medbay. He kept his face stone cold until he reached his room, where he cried as well.

…

Later that night, his sleep was interrupted by a knock on the door. He groggily got up and opened it, where he saw Mercy who kept her head down, avoiding his gaze. "Angie, what are you-"

She cut him off by placong her lips on his. The kiss was long and heartfelt, both of them only pulling away so that they could actually breathe. Mercy was looking into his eyes now, and he could see that the old spark she had was back in them.

"Does this mean you still love me?"

Mercy gave him another kiss. "Oh Jesse, I never stopped."

She pushed him inside and locked the door behind them.

/

Ashe nervously checked her watch. _2:50 AM._ Ten minutes until they got to her estate. She grabbed her gear and snuck downstairs, past the guest house towards the gate to wait for them. All night she had been double thinking what she was about to do, but she'd promised herself that she was going to push through with it, no matter what.

"Elizabeth? What are you doing out here?"

Ashe's heart stopped when she heard McCree's voice. She slowly turned around. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm checking the estate for any security risks." McCree said, although she saw him abruptly hide something behind his back. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright fine, I was smoking but you said that it was fine."

"It is, just go back to sleep."

McCree shook his head. "I was about to but I changed my mind now that I saw you. What are you doing here at this time of night?"

Before Ashe could think of an excuse, a car pulled up to the gate and Taylor and Diaz stepped out. McCree pulled his revolver out and pointed it at them. "Elizabeth get behind me."

"Always the hero aren't we Jesse?" Taylor teased.

"Don't test me Taylor, I will kill both of you if I have to."

"Oh I believe you kid, I know how Ashe's secutiry staff is when it comes to unwanted guests." Taylor said "But there's one problem. We're not unwanted."

"What?"

"She didn't tell you?" Taylor asked "Ashe called us. Said she wanted in on our next job. She also said that you weren't going to be a problem, although now I'm starting to doubt that."

McCree turned to Ashe. "Elizabeth, is this true?"

She guiltily looked away from him. "Sorry Jesse."

The last thing McCree could remember was Ashe smacking him with the butt of her rifle.


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy holidays everybody. Don't blow any of you fingers off in new year's.**

"Can you please tell me why we brought him along again?" Taylor asked Ashe, looking at McCree's unconscious body "You said he won't be a problem."

"He would be a much bigger problem if we just left them there." Ashe said, tying McCree's hands together before guiltily wiping blood from his mouth.

"She's got a point Taylor. The minute he wakes up, he'll go to police. At least if he's tied up in the car we don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Shut up and drive Diaz." Taylor said, kicking the back of his seat before turning back to Ashe "You have no idea how long we've been planning for this job Ashe. You're here because we're a man short so if you fuck this up, I swear to God you're not coming back alive. You and McCree."

"I can handle myself Taylor. Worry about yourself, you're so worried about me that you're forgetting that I'm not the only one doing this job."

"I don't have to worry about myself. I've been doing this before you were born."

Ashe took a second to process what had just been said to her. "You would have been five years old if you had been doing this before I was born."

Taylor shrugged. "Like I told you, I don't have to worry about myself."

"Fine, you know how to hold up convenience stores." Ashe said "But from what you've told me, this is different. You're stealing from the rich here. People like me. Which is why I am way more useful than you say I am. I know how these people think, how they handle their money."

"All of that doesn't change the fact that this is still your first job so follow our lead and shoot where we tell you to."

The car stopped and Ashe saw Diaz put his mask on. "We're here. Get ready."

Taylor gave Ashe a bandana but she was too busy looking out the window. "Why are we at the police station?"

Taylor shot Diaz a look, to which he just raised an eyebrow in response. Taylor sighed and faced Ashe. "Pop quiz, whenever we do shit that isn't legal, who's the first to respond?"

Ashe nudged her head to the building next to them. "Exactly." Taylor said "So if we take them out before we do illegal shit, who's going to stop us?"

Ashe didn't want to admit it, but that was actually smart. Impressive even. She tied the bandana on her face, put her hat on and grabbed her viper before stepping out of the van. She saw Diaz run somewhere was getting their guns ready.

"Where's he going?"

"We've staked the place out beforehand." Taylor said "He's locking the back doors and taking out the cameras. Don't be too trigger happy alright, we don't kill unless we absolutely have to. When he gives us the signal we-" Taylor was cut off by a gunshot and she cocked her gun "Look alive Ashe, we're going in."

The two of them barged through the door with their guns at the ready. Taylor fired off a shot to get everyone's attention. "On the ground, now!" she yelled "Anyone that reaches for their gun will be dead before it gets out of the holster!"

Diaz emerged from the back, holding a few more officers that he caught at gunpoint. "Slide over your guns. Slowly." He ordered. The officers obliged and once they were all unarmed, Diaz had them all stand up and march into the holding cells which he then locked and threw the keys for it well out of anyone's range.

"What the hell are you doing?" one of the officers asked.

"You don't have to worry about that." Diaz said "You won't be there anyway."

Ashe saw Taylor whisper something to his ear, something that made him smirk at her but before Ashe could make anything out of it, the two of them were already pushing past her to the exit. She followed them outside and when Taylor opened the backdoor of the van, McCree sprang out and grabbed her by the neck. Diaz went to interfere and McCree backhanded him for it. He reached for Taylor's side arm and pointed it at Ashe.

"What the fuck are you doing with these two Elizabeth?!"

"I can explain." Ashe said with her hands up.

"If you're going to do it, do it far from here because you're attracting attention." Diaz said.

McCree looked around, where people were peeking from their windows at the scene unfolding in front of the recently assaulted police station. Ashe took the oppurtunity to push the distracted McCree back into the van before getting in as well. Taylor and Diaz got in and they drove away as fast as the van can go.

In the heat of the moment, Ashe forgot about the side arm that McCree still had. Thankfully, he reminded her by pointing it back at her head. "Start explaining Elizabeth."

"I will, just calm down." Ashe said "Anything I ask for gets handed to me on a silver platter and as a result I felt that I don't deserve what I have and it kills me in-"

"Spare me the bullshit sob story Elizabeth and give me the truth." McCree demanded.

"Its not bullshit Jesse, but fine. I felt good when we helped them escape. A feeling that was better than anything I've experienced before and I just want to feel it again."

"So you're going to steal from, even kill innocent people just for what? To get high on whatever the fuck that feeling is?"

"The people we're about to steal from are not innocent people McCree." Diaz said from the driver's seat.

"Shut up. Another word out of you and I'm putting a bullet in your head, I don't care if we crash."

"But he's right though Jesse." Ashe said "The people that work at the Bank of Southwest America are all corrupt. They take money from the accounts of the poor and force them to take out loans with interests so high that they have no hope in hell to pay back. Then as compensation, they take everything they have."

McCree didn't listen to any word Ashe had said after Bank of Southwest America. That goddamned bank had taken his old home from his family once they fell behind on some payments. That was what had caused his mother's alcohol problem in the first place. The chance for vengance he had always been dreaming of was right at his fingertips…

"They'll only get what's coming to them Jesse." Ashe said, reaching over to lower the gun in his hands.

That bank was the reason he was here in the first place, indirectly anyway. There was finally some justice in the shitty seventeen years he had been on this earth, but he couldn't find it in himself to sieze it. Goddamn parents that raised him properly.

He shook his head. "No. Its still wrong."

"You're either with us or against us here McCree." Taylor said.

"Then I'm against you."

"You know that means you ain't walking away from this alive, right?"

McCree stared at her in all seriousness. "I'd like to see you try and stop me."

Taylor smirked at him. "You've got some balls McCree. It's a shame, you could've been one of us."

Diaz stopped the van again. "We're here."

"We'll deal with you later." Taylor said "But you're going down with us, I don't feel good leaving you alone with all our gear."

They all got out of the van, McCree being the last to get off so that he had three guns pointed at him in case he tries anything. Taylor, Diaz and Ashe put their masks back on and Ashe even gave him one, despite Taylor's objections.

"If he tries anything in there, shoot him." Taylor said to Ashe, who didn't respond.

The two of them went ahead while Ashe and McCree stayed behind a bit, far enough that they were out of earshot. "Its not too late Elizabeth."

"You're right. Its not too late for you to join us Jesse, because I am not backing out."

"What's going to happen to me after all this?"

Ashe sighed. "I won't let them kill you but I can't let you stay either. They'll see you as a liability as long as you don't join us, so please do. I like having you around."

"You know I can't do that Elizabeth."

"Then I guess this is goodbye." Ashe said as they pushed past thhe double doors of the bank.

The scene inside was what McCree had expected, all the patrons of the bank lying down on the floor with Taylor had one of the employees work the vault while being held at gunpoint while Diaz walked around, watching over the hostages.

"We're robbing the bank's money, not yours!" he yelled "All your money is still safe in your accounts. Just let us be and this will all be over soon. Interfering will only make it harder for both of us. You'll be dead and we'll have the money anyway so just stay down."

Ashe walked over to help Taylor with the vault. "The hell's taking so long?" she asked.

Taylor pressed her gun harder onto the employee she had dragged there. "Ask her. The bitch can't get it open."

"Its my first day here, they haven't given me the combination yet." The employee whimpered "Please don't kill me."

"Tell us who has the combination and I won't."

"T-the manager has it but he ran as soon as you started firing."

Taylor groaned. "Put her alongside the others." She said to Ashe.

Ashe grabbed the employee by the arm and dragged her to where Diaz had put the other hostages. She looked at her and she felt a pang of guilt. She was barely an adult, probably a fresh graduate and her first day on the job was spent cowering in fear in front of three armed robbers. Diaz took the employee from her and she forced those thoughts out of her head. She was not changing her mind, not now. She walked back over to the vault.

"We're not going to be able to open this vault without the combination Ashe." Taylor said, her voice low so that the hostages won't hear their names "Any ideas?"

"They're so focused on making sure their lock won't be cracked. Let's see if they had planned for anyone trying to brute force their way in."

"I admire your confidence but I'm pretty sure we won't be able to break through that."

Ashe smirked. "Who said we were the ones going to do it."

"Diaz can't break through that either."

"No I meant that, nevermind." Ashe pulled out a remote and pressed a button on it. They waited in silence for a few seconds before they heard a thudding sound in the distance. One that kept getting closer and closer. Almost as if something was running towards them. After a few more seconds, Bob burst through the door, shocking not only the hostages, but Taylor and Diaz as well.

"Hey there Bob. A little help here?"

Bob looked at Ashe, then to the vault. He blinked before walking over to it and hitting it with his fist. The sound of metal clashing against metal was only made louder as it echoed through the quiet bank floor. After a few more punches, Bob's fist went through the vault door and he used the hole to get a grip on it. He pulled it off its hinges and threw it across the room where it barely missed the hostages.

"Watch it you dumbass!" Taylor yelled and Bob glared at her for it.

He began to advance towards her and Taylor raised her gun in response. Ashe stepped in between them. "Relax Bob, she didn't mean it."She said "Can you help us bring the money to the van outside?"

Bob stared at Taylor for a second more before walking into the vault and emerging a few seconds later with two duffel bags in each hand. He marched outside, passing by the hostages who shied away from him once he got close. Taylor and Ashe walked in the vault as well and grabbed a duffel each and walked it out to the van, Taylor yelled at Diaz to keep an eye on everyone on the way out.

With the help of Bob, the three of them cleared out the vault fairly quickly up until they were down to the last four bags. After Bob, Ashe and Taylor had brought three of them into the van, Diaz walked to the vault and grabbed the last one, just as thhe others returned.

"Get the car started, we have to get out of-" a shot went off, interrupting Diaz when it hit the duffel bag, sending money flying everywhere.

He dropped the bag and dove behind the counter along with the others. "What the fuck! I thought we had locked up the police."

Ashe peeked above the counter before ducking back down, barely dodging a bullet that took her hat off. "Those aren't police."

One by one, the former hostages each pulled out a piece and fired at them, even at McCree who had been silently standing at the side the whole time, forcing him to jump behind the counter as well. Over the noise of the gunfire, McCree yelled at them.

"I'm not with them you assholes!"

"They don't care about that McCree." Taylor yelled at him as she blindly fired over the counter "If you're not rich then you're an enemy to them."

The firing didn't stop, most of it was focused at the counter so that none of them could peek without getting their head taken off. With everyone else focused on the firefight, only McCree had noticed the manager slowly approach them from behind with a sharp letter opener on his hand. As he got closer and closer to Ashe, McCree knew he had to make a choice. No matter what they say, what they were doing was wrong.

But there was no way he was letting her die.

He grabbed his revolver, which Diaz had stowed in the back of his pants when he took it away from him, and fired it, the shot hitting the man right between the eyes. Only then did they finally notice him. The three of them stared at him, unsure of what to think. He may have saved Ashe, but that doesn't mean he wasn't going to pull the gun on Diaz and Taylor.

"Jesse?" Ashe nervously asked.

McCree stared at the ground, grip tightening on his revolver. "These fuckers tore my family apart." He said, voice low "They don't deserve to live."

He grabbed Ashe's discarded hat from the ground, put it on the corpse and propped it up against the counter high enough so that its head was exposed. When someone shot it, he peeked out and fired back, taking two out before going back into cover.

While everything unfolded, Bob stood by Ashe's side, unfazed by the many bullets that was hitting him. "Can't that thing shoot back?" Diaz asked.

"He's not equipped with any firearms." Ashe said.

"Then we use him as a shield. Get behind him and tell him to walk to the exit slowly."

The four of them stood behind Bob and they inched their way to thhe front door. The people of the bank fired at them but Bob just kept going while the others peeked over his shoulder to fire back. Eventually they made it to the van and they all drove off just as sirens of police cars were heard in the distance. Taylor opened her window and flipped them off as they drove away.

…

"A toast, for Ashe's first ever successful job!"

Everyone raised their beers as Taylor sat back down on one of the lawn chairs in the estate's bonfire area. "Why are you giving her all the credit? You'd all be dead had I not shot that manager." McCree said.

"That's nice and all McCree but the fact remains that since we didn't kill you yet, saving our asses was just you paying back the favor. So we're even, and you're not getting any praise."

"Plus, I remember you saying that you wanted nothing to do with us." Diaz said "Took you long enough to stop being a hypocrite."

"Oh fuck you." McCree said, taking a sip of his beer.

"Speaking of fuck you," Diaz said as he turned to Taylor "you better keep your word."

"Bring it up again and I'll take it back." Taylor told him before abruptly changing the subject "You call this alcohol Ashe? I've had three bottles and I may as well have drank water by how drunk I feel."

"Well I barely had anything to choose from. Its not like I could buy it yet."

"Luckily, as the only one who's legal here, I came prepared." Taylor said, pulling out a flask.

"Hey, I'm legal."

"I was talking about age Diaz."

"Uh, so was I." he said, taking the flask from her and taking a sip before passing it to McCree.

"Sure." Taylor said "Even if you were, and you weren't, you're not yet legal. Twenty years old may be considered as an adult in your part of the world but in America, you have to wait one more year."

"It was legal enough for you."

"I warned you Diaz. Now I'm taking it back."

"I was kidding, come on." He chuckled.

Ashe looked at the two criminals in front of her and she smiled. She turned to McCree, who took way more sips from the flask than he was supposed to for the substance to be split equally among the four of them. "Hey quit hogging it."

McCree took another sip before passing it to her. She took a sip, gagged and coughed it all up onto the ground below.

"Hey don't waste it!" Taylor yelled before grabbing the flask from her.

"I couldn't swallow it. What the fuck was that?"

Taylor took a big sip from it just to rub it in Ashe's face and passed it to Diaz. "Don't worry about it, its normal for people like you."

"People like me?"

"People who can't handle their alcohol." Taylor said before laughing, and the others followed.

McCree had the flask now and he downed a sip so easily that it only made her feel even more like a wimp. He was about to pass it to her again when Taylor stopped him, saying that she should just stick to the 'pussy beer' that she had brought.

The three of them took turns sipping from the flask while Ashe jealously watched. They also took turns teasing her about it, which bothered her more than it should. Once the flask was empty, McCree got up and stretched.

"Well I'm hitting the hay. Goodnight." He said before leaving for the room that he now has.

"Hey Ashe, you mind if we crash here for the night?" Taylor asked "We're both way too drunk to be driving."

"After you tease me like that?"

"Oh come on Ashe, you know we were just joking." Diaz said.

Ashe groaned. "Fine."

"Thank you." Taylor said "Just let us get our sleeping bags from the van and we'll be out of your hair."

"Wait, you're sleeping out here?" Ashe asked "No. No you're not, you're gonna get a cold."

"Well then where do you suggest we sleep?"

Ashe pondered over if she was going to regret what she was going to say next. Fuck it. "I've always wanted to sleep in the master bedroom so that's what I'm doing tonight. You can stay in my room."

"You sure?"

"Just come with me before I change my mind."

Ashe brought them to her room where she told them everything they needed to know. What was off limits and what they can use and how much of it. Once she was done, she went to leave for her parent's bedroom.

"Hey Ashe?"

"Hm?"

"Will there be breakfast tomorrow?"

"Don't push your luck Taylor."

…

Ashe laid on the huge and comfortable bed, going through all the events that took place that day. Firstly was when she bopped McCree in the head, something she hasn't apologized for yet, then she had locked the police inside their own holding cell, then she had robbed the bank that her family had once used, then she got in a firefight and used Bob as a human, or rather omnic shield, then she went home and drank with the people she once thought were her enemies.

And then they made fun of her.

For some reason, of all the things that happened that day, that was what stood out the most. She has been made fun of before, it was even the reason she got in the fight that made her parents homeschool her, but why had this felt different? Was it because McCree had laughed at her?

If he laughed at her inexperience when it comes to drinking, what more when it comes to her inexperience when it comes to other things. Bedroom things.

 _What the fuck Elizabeth?!_ She yelled at herself _That is your friend, your employee! You can't think about things like that!_

If before, falling asleep was difficult, now that she had the thought of her and McCree sharing a night together, it became impossible. Not that she could fall asleep anyway, not with Diaz and Taylor making noise in the next room from all their…activities.

"Fuck Diaz I'm close, don't pull out."

"I wasn't planning to but now that you mentioned it…"

"Don't you fucking dare you-" Taylor's words were replaced with a high pitched moan and a thud from her head hitting the headboard.

"I'm still hard Taylor, do you mind repaying the favor?"

When Ashe heard Taylor gag, that was enough for her and she walked out to the balcony on the master bedroom, far from any sounds that could come through the walls. She sighed, with thhe sounds coming from the next room, the sudden and highly inappropriate thoughts she had about her first ever human friend and her insomnia worse than ever, tonight was going to be a long night.

…

"So when's the next job?"

"Calm down there Ashe, who said you were officially part of us? You have to prove your worth first."

"I already had."

Taylor scoffed. "You go on one successful job and you already think you're the shit. If anything, I admire your confidence."

One of the kitchen staff arrived and placed food in front of them. They all ate in silence and once Diaz was finished, he got up and said he was going to split all the money they had stolen.

"I'm coming with you, make sure you split it equally." McCree said and the two of them left the table.

"I thought you were already rich. Why did you want to split the money again?" Taylor asked once the two of them were alone.

"Its more of a souvenir, you know from my first ever job. Besides, my services aren't free."

Taylor snorted. "From where I come from, what you just said means something completely different."

Ashe took a second to realize what Taylor had meant, and when she did, her smile disappeared. Something that Taylor had noticed. "What's wrong?" she asked, more annoyed than concerned "Did mommy and daddy not tell you about how the world is like when you don't have money? In fact, I'm lucky that theft is the only thing I had been doing."

"How are you so, so calm about all that? Doesn't it bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me Ashe." Taylor said "But I can either learn to live with it, or let it consume me. Take a guess which one I chose."

Ashe took a bite out of her breakfast. This wasn't something she wanted to bring up but somehow she did, and now she wants to stay away from it.

"Enough about that." She said, trying to change the subject "Are we part of your next job or not?"

"Uhmm, I don't know." Taylor said "We're kind of full."

"What do you mean your full? Its just you and your boyfriend from what I can tell."

"Yeah well-, wait what? Diaz and I aren't together."

"Then what was last night?"

"You were listening? You perv!" Taylor said, her face developing a shade of red.

"If you weren't so loud, maybe I wouldn't have heard anything."

"Whatever." Taylor said, trying to sound unbothered by her discovery even though she clearly was. "Diaz is not my boyfriend."

"So…friends with benefits?"

Taylor scoffed. "We're barely even friends."

"So what are you two?"

Taylor finished her food and got up. "What we are, is none of your business." She said "I'm starting to like you Ashe. Don't ruin it by asking me personal questions."

"Then answer my first question." Ashe said "Are we in or not."

Taylor thought it over for a second before answering her. "I'll call you when we have the details."

/

"What the hell is taking him so long?" Pharah grumbled to herself as she walked to McCree's room.

"Jesse!" she yelled as she banged at his door "You better not be asleep in there, we're going to get left behind!"

McCree yelled something through the door that Pharah couldn't quite make out so she tried the door handle, which was unlocked. She entered the room, shocking McCree into hiding something behind his back as he faced her.

"What are you hiding?"

"I-I'm not hiding anything. Just leave and I'll be right behind y-"

"You're shit at lying Jesse. You already have the whole team waiting for you, at least let me know why?"

"Fareeha I-" McCree tried to say but Pharah had already reached behind him and grabbed the thing he was hiding from his hands.

Pharah examined the small box she now had in her hands. "Whatever this is it should be-" Pharah lost the ability to speak once she opened the box and saw its contents.

McCree closed the box and grabbed it back from her before stuffing it in his bag. "Don't just take my shit Fareeha."

Pharah ignored McCree's threat, too occupied with what she just saw. "No way Jesse. No fucking way."

"Yes way, alright? Now don't ruin the surprise." He said as he slung his bag over his shoulder and the two of them walked to the hangar.

"Are you seriously going to do it? While we're on a mission?"

"Fareeha shut up!" McCree whispered "Its not a mission, we're just going to Sweden to pick up Lindholm and I figured it would be a nice place to do it now will you please keep your mouth shut? She might hear you."

"You better be sure about this Jesse."

"I'm terrified, but I'm as sure as I'll ever be."

The two of them boarded the plane, and after a few scolds from Ana they finally took off. After a few restless hours of nervous glances, they finally arrived in front of Torbjorn's home, where his many children ran out to greet Ana and Reinhardt. Through the crowd, the others pushed past them and entered the house.

Eventually, Reindhardt and Ana got in the house as well, where the man himself had sat down at his dining table and invited them to sit with him.

"Took you all long enough." Torbjorn said "I was starting to think you won't show up."

"Haha my friend!" Reinhardt's voice boomed "We would never forget about you."

McCree, Pharah and Mercy walked around while the members of the first strike team caught up with each other. While Mercy explored the garden, Pharah pulled McCree to the side.

"Hey Jesse…" she whispered.

"Don't. Bring. It. Up." McCree warned, jabbing Pharah with his finger with each word.

"I wasn't going to." She responded, swatting his finger away before lowering her voice "Who is that?"

Pharah moved McCree's head so that he was looking at a brunette silently drinking coffee at the dining table while the others were laughing at the top of their lungs. "That's Brigitte. Torbjorn's daughter."

Pharah nodded. "And how old is she?"

"Jesus Christ, Fareeha." McCree said.

"Just answer the damn question Jesse."

"She's younger than Lena, and Lena's already pretty young."

"Ok then." Pharah said "But is she gay?"

"Fareeha!"

Pharah's heart stopped when she heard Ana call her from inside. She didn't hear what she just said, had she? "Torbjorn is letting us stay here for the night. There's dinner if you want."

"Thanks mum." Pharah said and Ana went back inside. "Now's the time to do it Jesse." She said before following her.

McCree nodded and went to look for Mercy, whom he found admiring some of the flowers in the garden. He slowly walked up to her. "Hey Angie," he said and when she looked at him, he suddenly forgot what he was going to say.

"Yes Jesse? What is it?"

"Uh, Ana said we're staying her for the night."

"Oh, ok. Is that all?" Mercy asked.

McCree's hand tightly clutched the box it was holding. "Yes, that's all."

"Well, let's go inside now. Its starting to get dark."

McCree stared at her as she walked away. _Goddammit Jesse be a man and just fucking do it already!_ "Hey Angie, one more thing."

Mercy turned around and saw McCree down on one knee and holding a ring in his hands. "Jesse…"

"I may not come from much, and you deserve way better than me, but I love you to hell and back and I will kill anyone that says otherwise. Angela Ziegler, will you-"

"Yes!" Mercy cut him off, tears in her eyes as she answered.

McCree gave her a kiss as he put the ring on. "Angie, you have made me the happiest man alive." He said "Come on, let's go tell the others."

The two of them stopped when a sudden bright light flashed behind them, one that was getting closer and closer. "The hell?" McCree squinted so he can see what it was.

It was a missile.

And it was headed for the house.


	7. Chapter 7

**So yeah, this one took a while. The reason for that was because I kept rewriting this chapter over and over** **again, trying to avoid this one scene but if I remove it, it fucks up the whole plot so I had to include it. Sorry in advance, I guess.**

"So, you're Torbjorn's daughter?"

"Yeah." Brigitte nodded as she took a bite out of her dinner "I know, I don't see the resemblance either. But then again, its shocking for my dad to be related to anyone over four feet."

"I can hear you two!" Torbjorn yelled from across the table "One more word out of you and you're both sleeping outside."

Brigitte and Pharah apologized simultaneously and went back to their dinner, both of them trying to stifle their laughter. "How come I've never seen you on the base whenever I was there with my father?" Brigitte asked.

Pharah looked over to the couch, where Ana was chatting with Torbjorn's wife. "I used to be there all the time, then my mother caught McCree teaching me how to shoot a gun. She nearly killed him had I not told her that I asked him to teach me. She stopped bringing me there, scared by who I was surrounded by while I was growing up. Scared of how it could affect me, and when she 'died', I never went back."

"I take it that you and your mother don't get along very well."

"We get along just fine." Pharah said "I just feel like I can't be myself around her."

"How so?" Brigitte asked.

"Well for one, I've always wanted to be an overwatch agent, but she always scold me whenever I brought it up as a child. I had to pretend to be the Fareeha that she wanted. That man you saw me with, the one with the cowboy getup, he knows me way more than my mother does."

"Why don't you just talk to her about it?"

"I wish it were that simple. She means well, but when she has her mind set to something, nothing can change it. It doesn't help that she's so conservative to the point of homophobia."

"I don't see how that's…unless you're…"

Pharah nodded. "Yes, I am. My mother's been oblivious to it for thirty years and here you are, discovering it after thirty minutes of conversation."

"Its not my business, but if I were you, I'd talk to her. She's still your mother and there's nothing you could do that will make her stop loving you."

"I know she loves me, I love her too." Pharah said "I'm just scared of her finding out that the Fareeha she loves and the Fareeha that I am are two different people."

They finished the rest of their dinner and went their separate ways, Pharah going to the front porch, watching Reinhardt play with the rest of Torbjorn's kids. She couldn't help but smile, wondering how the giant was able to keep up with the pace even at his sixties. She was just about to join in just to give Rein an extra challenge when a bright light in the sky caught her attention. As it got closer and closer, the last thing Pharah could remember was Mercy and McCree running towards them, just as a missile landed in front of them and everything went black.

/

McCree sat on one of the generators on the roof, his feet resting on the ledge as he opened the cylinder of his revolver, spin it then snap it back in over and over again all while Ashe was lying down on her belly, telescope in hand as she waited for Taylor's signal, clearly annoyed by the clicking noises that McCree was making.

"Jesse," she said, clear in her voice that she was holding herself back from yelling "what are you doing?"

"I'm just passing the time."

"Can you do it in a less annoying way? I'm trying to focus here."

"I'm doing you no harm Elizabeth. Its just a little noise is all." McCree said.

"A little noise could throw me off and we could miss our mark now stop playing with the damn thing or I'll confiscate it."

McCree rolled his eyes and put his gun back in its holster. "Alright, mom." He said, emphasizing that last word.

"I am not babying you Jesse." Ashe said, although the scolding tone in her voice said otherwise.

McCree chuckled and pulled out a cigar. "Whatever."

Ashe watched him as he lit the cigar and put it in his mouth, inhale deeply before coughing out a cloud of smoke, the smell of which reminded her of the times when her father would smoke his backwoods, and scold her whenever she was around when he was doing so.

"Can I have one?" she asked.

"Woah Elizabeth, first drinking, now smoking. I'm not rubbing off on you am I?"

Ashe scoffed. "Oh please Jesse, I'll never let you rub me off."

McCree raised an eyebrow. "That's not what I meant Elizabeth."

"That came out wrong. Just give me one."

McCree passed her a cigar and when he went to light it, a flare shot up into the sky. "That's the signal, come on." Ashe said before calling Bob who crashed into the window of the building next door.

"They're distracted Taylor, you know what to do." McCree said to his radio before turning back to Ashe. "Time to earn our pay."

/

Pharah groaned as McCree dragged her into the house, laying her down on a table in front of her mother. While Ana was treating her, she saw from the corner of her eye Reinhardt bringing Torbjorn's children inside, all them shaken up but otherwise ok. Mercy rushed to their aid, and once their mother had managed to calm them down, she approached to help Pharah.

"Ziegler, caduceus staff. Now." Ana demanded.

Mercy let a golden beam of light connect with Pharah, and her wounds began to heal until she was good as new. Ana checked on her daughter one last time before joining Torbjorn and Reinhardt, the former unbelievably pissed off.

"Putting my children in danger? If I get my hands on whoever did this that bastard would be lucky to die."

"You may just get your wish Torbjorn." Ana said, pointing at the multiple flashlights cutting through the night's darkness.

Torbjorn's gaze went from the outside to his scared family. "Brigitte, help your mother take your siblings somewhere safe." He said.

"I'll come with you." Pharah volunteered.

"Fareeha-"

"I'm fine mum. I can do this, just focus on helping the others." Pharah said before she and the rest of Torbjorn's family ran for the back door.

As the lights got closer, they all got into position, Reinhardt putting his shield up while the others stood behind it, guns at the ready. "Don't let anybody pass through." He said.

Their assailants weren't expecting the to be alive, let alone fight back, as seen when the first few of them were gunned down before the rest of them realized and began to fire back. They continued to fire, hoping those bastards won't figure out the major disadvantage they had. Surrounded by darkness, their flashlights were like a beacon for them. For their bullets.

McCree heard a clicking noise once he had fired the last of his ammunition. Thankfully, there was no one firing at them anymore. It didn't bring the comfort it was supposed to however, the silence scared them way more than when they were being gunned down. Each second felt like an eternity as they just stood there, none of them letting their guard down.

"Is…is that it?" Mercy asked.

"I think so."

Reinhardt was just about to put his shield down when a dark purple ball slowly hovered towards them. Once it was close enough, it attached itself to all of them, similar to how Mercy's staff would, but this was different. The second they came into contact with it, they felt nothing but pain.

Reinhardt groaned, the sensation breaking his concentration, making his shield waver, flicking on and off rapidly. They were only happening in seconds, but they all knew they was enough time for anyone to land a shot on them.

"Hang on Reinhardt." Ana said, throwing a biotic grenade at their feet, giving them at least temporary relief.

Reinhardt's shield was fully up again, barely blocking a sniper shot that would have taken Torbjorn's head off. The sniper kept shooting at them, taking their attention away the man sneaking up from behind them until it was too late.

He smashed the ground in front of them, throwing them all into the air. He cocked his fist back and hit Reinhardt as he was falling down, sending him flying into the rubble that was once Torbjorn's house. With the shield gone, everyone else scrambled for cover, giving the man a chance to pick them off one by one.

He went for McCree first, who was too occupied loading his revolver to notice. His metal fist glowed as it charged, ready to strike McCree. A yell from Mercy made him finally notice the man wielding the doomfist barreling towards him.

Knowing it was too late to run, McCree braced for impact but Reinhardt jumped in front of him at the last second, his rocket hammer in hand. The hammer and doomfist collided, the sound of metal against metal deafening and it threw both of them backwards. Reinhardt slid on the ground, stopping just short of McCree, who immediately pulled him into cover with him.

"You saved my ass there Reinhardt."

Reinhardt coughed up blood. As tough as the bastard was, that was a major blow that he took. "Don't mention it." He said "If someone were to die tonight, I'd rather it be me than it be someone that I couldn't have saved."

"No one's dying tonight. You have my word." McCree said. He grabbed his revolver and fired at where they last saw the sniper, giving the others cover. "I need a medic here!"

Seconds later, Mercy flew to them and healed Reinhardt once she was in cover. McCree stopped firing and tried to help as much as he could.

"I'm fine here. Help Ana, she's pinned down." Mercy said.

McCree reloaded his revolver and threw a flashbang out in the open and dashed for Ana, ducking into cover with her just in time for the sniper to have recovered had they been affected by the stun at all. "I have one more flash Ana." McCree said "When I say, run back to the others. I'll cover you."

Ana nodded but just as McCree was about to pull the pin, another glowing orb floated towards them. Ana prepared another biotic grenade to use on the two of them to negate the orb's effects when McCree stopped her. "Don't waste it." He said "That orb's yellow. I've seen Moira work on these. That isn't meant to harm us, its supposed to heal her."

"Then that would mean she's near."

"You're absolutely right Ana." Moira said as she materialized between them and struck at McCree. He fell to the ground, and once he was out of the way, Moira attacked Ana, tackling her to the ground and choking her.

Ana clawed at Moira's arms as she slowly turned blue. "G-get off me."

"Or what _captain_?" Moira asked, her voice full of poison "Are you going to fire me again?"

Just as Ana was about to lose consciousness, Torbjorn came out of nowhere and threw himself at Moira, tackling her so that now she was the one of the ground. His claw wrapped itself around her neck and he tightened it, making her gasp for air.

"How does it feel, you bitch?" he spat at her.

Just as he was about to snap her neck in half, Mercy yelled from behind them. They all turned to her direction and saw Doomfist grabbing her by the neck. "Let her go." Doomfist told Torbjorn, who reluctantly complied in fear of what he was going to do to Mercy.

Moira disappeared into thin air as soon as she was free of Torbjorn's grip. The sniper soon joined Doomfist as he prepared to finish all of them off, and once she came into the light, McCree felt his heart stop beating.

"Ashe?"

"Hello Jesse." She snarled, her face smug. "Miss me?"

"You're working for Talon?" McCree asked, still in disbelief. Sure Ashe wasn't a good person by any means, but never in a million years did he think that she would actually become a terrorist.

"As long as I get to punish you for your betrayal, I'm willing to do anything." Ashe said as she cocked her rifle "Bob sends his regards."

Before Ashe could fire, a ship appeared behind McCree and the others, with Pharah behind the wheel and its guns pointed at them. "Drop your weapons." Pharah commanded.

"Sombra, now!" Doomfist yelled and the translocators they had on them began to come to life.

In the brief time it took for it to teleport them back, McCree reached for his revolver. "Ashe!" he yelled before firing at her, but because Moira had materialized in front of her at the last second, she took the bullet instead, and Ashe fired at him, hitting him in the chest before she and Doomfist were able to teleport away.

With Mercy still in Doomfist's hands.

"Angela!" McCree yelled as he fell to his knees, staring at the spot where Ashe and Doomfist stood even after they were already long gone.

"McCree, that's enough." Torbjorn said, helping him up.

"No its not Torbjorn. They have Angela."

"Don't worry. We have one of them as well." Torbjorn said, gesturing to Moira's bleeding but alive body.

…

Ashe and Doomfist reappeared in Talon's headquartes, the unconscious medic still over Doomfist's shoulder. Sombra approached them first, taking her translocators back and telling Doomfist to bring their new prisoner to the lab. Once Ashe was left alone with Sombra, she noticed a look that Sombra was giving her. Sombra knew something about her that she wasn't supposed to.

"Moira didn't make it." Ashe said, not giving Sombra the chance to speak first "She was shot before she could get back to us."

"Well shit." Sombra said "Hopefully Reyes will let us go back for her."

"You're going to let him stop you?"

"As much as I want to help her, Reyes has a bigger role in helping me get what I want. If it comes down to it and I have to choose between losing him and losing Moira, I'm choosing him."

"Wow." Ashe said "So if someone has no use to you, you just cut them loose? What happens when you don't need me anymore?"

"You're forgetting something Ashe. Everyone here is a criminal." Sombra said "No honor among thieves, remember? You're here for the same reason everyone else is. You want something, so just focus on that."

Ashe rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to my room."

"We're not done here yet Ashe."

Ashe just kept walking. "What else is there to talk about?"

"You and McCree."

Sombra smirked when Ashe stopped dead in her tracks. "I did some digging while you were gone and I found out that you and him were…involved with each other, to say the least. I'm not judging, relax." Sombra said when she saw Ashe's fist tighten "I just want to make sure that all that is over."

Ashe tried to hide the fury in her voice, not wanting to show Sombra the effect she had on her, but it proved to be difficult. Who was she to dig through her past? And to pull up something so personal and throw it in her face. Ashe wasn't having any of it.

"I may have let him bury the bone a couple of times but that's it. Everything else between us was strictly business. I have no feelings for him."

"Then why shoot him in the chest?" Sombra asked "I've seen your work. You're not one to miss a shot, especially one that easy. Why not just kill him?"

Ashe didn't answer and just kept walking until she had reached her room.

…

McCree grabbed Moira by her top and slammed her into the table. "Listen to me you leprechaun bitch, you're going to tell me where they took Angela. I don't care if I have to beat it out of you."

Moira spat in his face as a response. "Fuck you."

McCree took a deep breath and wiped his face before hitting Moira so hard that her blood stained on his metal fist.

"McCree that's enough!" Ana yelled as she and Torbjorn pulled him away from her "We can't get information from her if she's dead. Get out of here. Calm down a bit, I'll take over."

Ana's tone told McCree that that wasn't a request and he knew better than to argue with the captain. No matter how much he wanted Mercy back, he left the interrogation room. He went to the area by the cliffside of Gibraltar where he usually smokes at when he needs to blow off steam.

He popped a cigar into his mouth and lit it, inhaling as much of it as he could. Admittedly, it did calm him down, or at least bring his anger down enough that he won't hit the next person he sees, which was fortunate since someone just walked up from behind him.

"You know those will kill you, right?" A cheery British voice said.

McCree inhaled again before acknowledging his new companion. "I'm not in the mood for this Lena."

"I understand what you're going through Jesse, but you don't have to be a such prick."

"Lena, you do not want to piss me off right now."

Tracer put her hands up. "Relax, I'm not trying to start a fight." She said "I've seen what you did to Moira. A bit much innit?"

"So you're defending her now, huh?"

"What? No. I want that twat dead as much as everyone else, but I don't want it to happen just yet. Not when she could still be useful. Beating her to death certainly won't help."

"I can't help it. You know how its like, don't you? What would you do if it were Emily?" McCree asked.

"I'd kill her if it meant getting Emily back, but only if I'm sure that it will." Tracer said "You're not sure about anything here so beating Moira won't get you anywhere."

"Maybe its just not enough. I know that if there's at least one life that she values, its her own. I need to exploit that."

"Just, you know, don't actually kill her."

"I won't." McCree said "Probably."

He threw the remains of his cigar aside and went back to the interrogation room, yelling Tracer a thank you over his shoulder. On the way back, he stopped by his room and grabbed what he needed. If he does this properly, Moira will be begging to tell him where the others took Mercy.

He entered the interrogation room with two bottles. "You must be thirsty." He told Moira "Here. Which do you want?"

Moira yanked her hands to show how restrained they were. McCree groaned. "I'll do it for you, just choose."

"Playing the good cop now, cowboy?" Moira asked "I choose the one on the left."

"Good." McCree said before breaking the bottle over Moira's head, covering her in its contents.

"What the hell?"

McCree pulled out his lighter. "One if these bottles is filled with water, the other is filled with lighter fluid." He said "I have no idea which is which, and I'd like to find out."

Moira stared at the lighter's small flame in horror as she realized what McCree was planning to do. "You can't do that!" she yelled.

"Why not?" McCree asked, his voice so nonchalant that it actually scared her "Overwatch disbanded years ago. I'm not an agent anymore. I'm just a man willing to do anything to find his loved one, now you can either help me, or find out what was inside the bottle I smashed over your head."

"You're…you're bluffing."

McCree stared Moira in the eyes, his gaze telling her he was dead serious. "Try me."

McCree slowly brought the lighter closer and closer, and the genetescist finally broke. "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you just get that thing the fuck away from me."

McCree smirked and stowed his lighter back into his pocket. "I'm all ears."

…

No matter how bubbly the bath was, how scented the candles were or how much she told herself to, Ashe just couldn't relax. Taking long baths like these after completing a job was basically a routine for her by now. She'd sit in there for as long as she needs. She'd sit in there until all her worries just washed away.

But they didn't wash away.

The more she tried to relax, the more she kept thinking about it. Why did she miss? No, Sombra was right, she'd never miss a shot that easy. She chose to spare McCree, which now that she said it is actually way worse than her missing a shot at point blank range. Why would she let him live? This was the man that had betrayed the gang. The man that took out all of her men just a few days ago.

"Fuck you McCree." She said under her breathe, just remembering the things he did pissed her off. In fact, just seeing that bastard's face was enough to piss her off. His handsome face.

Ashe slapped herself. No matter how much she despised him, he always had an effect on her. Hell, when she found out that he was still alive, he'd been on his mind for a good week or so before she finally managed to kick him out. Now he crawled his way back in again, and he's bringing up back all the feelings towards him that Ashe had buried deep inside of her. Feelings that made her body tingle.

Some areas more than others…

 _No Elizabeth. Its just the bath, you're not actually-_ Ashe tried to stop herself but her hands now had a mind of their own as they moved in between her legs. She rubbed in circles for a bit before inserting two fingers into herself. Once she found her clit, she became relentless, fingering herself so hard that the ripples in the water blew all the bubbles away.

She was moving so fast that her arm was basically a piston now. She bit her hand to stop herself from yelling as her mind thought of anything and everything lewd that involved McCree. She knew she'd hate herself after this, but as of now, she couldn't care less. She was close. She was so close.

She arched her back as her hips bucked into her fingers, desperate to reach her peak and when she finally did, her voice went higher than she ever thought it could.

 _Well that's one way to clear your head Elizabeth._ She thought to herself, her mind only half conscious. She was still in the cleaning herself up again when she heard a knock on the door. She yelled from the bathroom before quickly finishing up and getting dressed. She answered the door and was met with an impatient Sombra standing at the doorway.

"What took you so long?"

"I said that I was in the bath." Ashe said "What do you need?"

"Come with me, I'm going to show you something."

Sombra walked down the hallway and Ashe followed her, the two of them passing by multiple people either wearing lab coats or coming out of rooms with blood stained scrubs. From what Ashe could tell, this was the 'lab' that everyone kept talking about. The place where Talon does their experiments on the poor souls unlucky enough to have been captured by them.

Sombra led Ashe into a room which had a window to the room next to it, which looked like it was a freezer of some sort. Inside it was the woman they brought in a few hours ago bound to a chair. She was stripped completely naked and was constantly being sprayed with water from a pipe. On the wall, Ashe could see the thermostat for that room, and based on the temperature, it seemed like they were planning to freeze the woman to death.

"Since you brought her here, I figured you'd want to know what happened to her."

"What is happening to her? And who is she anyway?"

"Calm down, one question at a time." Sombra said "First of all, that's Angela Ziegler, overwatch's resident doctor. She also happens to be McCree's girlfriend, or should I say fiancée, since that ring on her finger is basically announcing it for her."

 _Fiancée? So things between us really were just casual._ Ashe tried not to let whatever she was feeling show on her face, especially since apparently Sombra was studying it closely. For some reason, it annoyed her.

"I don't know what reaction you're trying to get from me, but you won't get it." Ashe said flatly.

"Just checking to see if you really didn't have feelings for that cowboy anymore."

"I don't." Ashe said, though what she had done just minutes before says the exact opposite. She tried not to think about it.

"Good. Anyway, you asked what was happening to her. The nerds down here like to torture their victims before they started experimenting on them, and this method just so happened to be one of their favorites."

"Jesus Christ." Ashe said in disgust as she walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Sombra asked, catching up to her.

"Do you really expect me to watch that all the way through?"

"Faur point." Sombra said "One last thing before you go."

Ashe sighed. "What is it?"

"I need your help convincing Reyes on helping Moira."

"He needs to be convinced of that?" Ashe asked, shocked that Reaper wasn't the type of leader that puts his people above everything else. It brought up a voice in the back of her head on whether joining them was a good decision or not.

"You'd be surprised on how selfish that man is. So will you help me or not?"

"Come on then." Ashe said, and the two of them walked into Reaper's room ready to argue only to be surprised when he immediately agreed with them.

"Wait what?" Sombra asked in disbelief.

"She still has the translocator on her doesn't she?" Reaper asked "We can use that. Are the scientists done with Ziegler yet?"

"They said they should be by the morning."

"Good. Come get me when they are. I have a plan."

…

McCree was tossing and turning in his bed, unable to sleep. He had managed to get thhe coordinates if the Talon base from Moira but not only was it late, most of them were injured so Ana said that they'd storm the place first thing tomorrow. He told Ana he'll go on his own tonight if he has to and it got him a sleep dart in the neck.

When it's effects finally wore off, he woke up in his room with a note on his nightstand.

 _I know you want to get Ziegler back but no matter how much you deny it, you need rest and so do we. I'm sorry but pushing yourself too hard will only hurt you and when you finally collapse, you would have wasted even more time. We'll go for it tomorrow since that's alson when Jack arrives and we need all the help we can get._

 _-Ana._

 _P.S. Yell at me again and I will gut you like a fish._

McCree groaned. That sleep dart completely screwed with his sleep schedule, putting him to bed at seven in the evening. Now it was three AM and he was wide awake. Finally giving up, he grabbed his hat, put it on and left his room, looking for a way to kill the remaining four hours he had until they were going to leave.

...

Morning finally came, and sure enough, Jack had arrived with it. Wasting no time, after greeting all of them, he immediately went for the ship, saying they can fill him in on the way there. McCree and Ana entered the ship as well. Torbjorn soon arrived as well, dragging Moira behind him.

"Why are you bringing her?" McCree asked.

"I don't feel comfortable not being able to keep an eye on her." Torbjorn said "Plus, if things go to shit, we can use her a bargaining tool."

Before Torbjorn can enter the ship however, the buckle on Moira's belt began to glow a purple light, and after smirking at them, she disappeared, leaving nothing but the device behind.

"What the fuck?" McCree said "Torbjorn you said you checked her for any devices."

"I did. It was hidden, I must have missed it."

"No shit you missed it. Now we lost our only leverage!"

"That's enough McCree. We've wasted enough time, lets just go already." Ana said.

He was about to re-enter the ship when the buckle glowed again. Not knowing who could be teleporting back to them, McCree, as well as the others aimed their weapons at it, ready to fire at a moment's notice. In a flash of purple light, another body appeared although this one collapsed to the ground. McCree slowly approached it and his jaw dropped.

"Angela?" he whispered as he looked at the naked and scarred body in front of him. He turned her over so that she was laying on her back and he saw that the word _Trade?_ Was carved into her chest.

Ana pushed past him and checked Mercy for a pulse. "She's alive." She said "Get her to the medbay, we can still save her."

…

"Is she going to be ok?" McCree asked as soon as Ana emerged from the medbay's operating room.

"She should be. The medical staff here is talented, plus there's that newcomer with the music that can heal and apparently it actually works. She's still unconcious but when she wakes up, you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you." McCree said, and Ana wrapped him in a hug.

"Rest easy kid. We have her back." Ana said, although there was a nagging feeling on the back of her head, saying that it was way too easy. She didn't tell McCree this though, she didn't want to scare him since that feeling was usually right.

That night, McCree was actually able to sleep that night, but thanks to his broken sleep schedule he woke up well before the sun was about to rise again. Since he was up anyway, he decided to go to the medbay to see how Mercy was doing.

She was awake when he got there, though when he got there she seemed different. She seemed…off. Her body was rigid, almost catatonic and she stared blankly into nothing.

"Angela?" McCree asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

No response. He tried again. "Angie? Its me. Are you ok?"

Again, no response. McCree approached her saw her wrist was bloodied and dislocated. He went closer to see what happened and she sprang to life, attacking him with the IV tube. McCree was so surprised by her sudden hostility that he wasn't able to fight back as she wrapped the tube around his neck.

"W-what the f-fuck Angela?" he grunted as she began to choke him.

McCree grabbed Mercy's forearms, trying to pull her off but it was like she was possessed, nothing on her mind other than killing the man in front of her. He could feel his fingernails dig into her flesh to the point that a little blood came out, but Mercy was unfazed by this.

McCree's vision began to darken and the last thing he saw was Ana running towards them to help. He heard her hit Mercy over the head and he was freed, finally being able to breathe.

"What has gotten into you Ziegler?" Ana demanded as she dragged McCree away.

Mercy just stayed silent as she pulled IV tube out of her arm and got out of bed, chasing the two of them. She stood in front of McCree with a metal lamp from the table. "Stay back Ziegler, I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to."

Mercy ignored Ana's warning and charged at them. Hesitating for only a brief moment, Ana struck Mercy with the lamp, sending her to the ground with blood seeping from her forehead. McCree, still out of breath, ran to her side and shook her lightly.

"Angela!"

Miraculously, his yell woke her up, and her first move was to grab his arm. McCree flinched backward and Ana prepared to hit her again when Mercy spoke.

"Stop! Please!"

"You're the one who attacked Ziegler." Ana said "What has gotten into you?"

"I-I don't know. I can't remember anything before just now."

"What are you talking about? You don't remember attacking me?"

"No Jesse, I blacked out. When I got taken, they…" Mercy's voice began to shake "…they did something to me. They planted something inside me, changed me. I don't feel like me anymore."

"What are you talking-"

"I know what you mean." Ana cut McCree off "I saw the same thing happen before. Talon did this to the wife of on of our agents."

"You mean Lacroix?" McCree asked.

Mercy nodded. "I woke up earlier this night and I was so scared I might hurt someone when I wake up again and I'm not the one in control. I handcuffed myself to the bed, but even that wasn't enough to stop whatever it is that they did to me." Mercy said, showing McCree and Ana her maimed wrist.

"I don't want to be like her Jesse." She continued as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't want to fight to have control over my body. I don't want to sleep in a cell every night just to make sure I don't kill anyone. I don't want to turn on any of you."

"Angela, just calm down. If there's anyone who can help you, its you. We can find a way to fix this, I promise."

"No we can't Jesse! That's the same promise I made to Ameile and look where she is now. There's only one way to stop this."

"Angela what are you-" McCree said but was cut off again when Mercy gave him a kiss.

"I love you Jesse." She said before turning to Ana "I love all of you."

Mercy grabbed McCree's revolver and pushed him away before shooting herself in the head.


	8. Chapter 8

"Wait, let me get this straight. You, the sheltered rich kid whose parents won't let her see someone smoke a cigar, knows how to gamble?"

"I didn't learn it from them Jesse." Ashe said "I got arrested once remember? Not much to do while your parents argue if they were going to pay bail or not so I learned from the other inmates."

"And that one night of playing gave you enough confidence that you would challenge me?"

"Why? Where did you learn to play?"

McCree shrugged. "Its just one of the many things you learn going to a public school in America."

"So you learned from a bunch of schoolboys?" Ashe smirked "This is going to be easy then."

"Ok then miss confident, if you're so sure about yourself, why don't we make things interesting?"

Ashe grabbed McCree's deck of cards and began to shuffle them. "How many zeroes we talking here?"

"No. Not money, even if I take a million from you tonight, you would have replaced it by tomorrow. Not that you would notice it was ever gone. How about this, the winner gets to take whatever they want from the loser."

"Interesting. Ok, but we'll say what we're taking from each other now to make sure the other actually has it. And you can't change it so whatever you say, that's it."

"Deal." McCree said "What do you plan on taking from me?"

"Your hat."

"Yeah, no. That's not happening."

"What? You can't say no."

"I just did." McCree said "Sorry Elizabeth, but you're not getting my hat."

"Really? You have the opportunity to take anything from me and you're throwing it away for some dumb hat?"

"Anything?" McCree said, raising his eyebrow at her.

"You're going to need a lot more than a card game to get me to do that for you."

"Relax, I'm kidding." McCree said with a chuckle.

"I wasn't." Ashe said before she could stop herself "I-I'm not saying that we're going to do that, I mean, not that I don't want to, uhh, I mean, shit, forget it. Forget I said anything."

McCree just chuckled at her again. "You know, seeing you all flustered like that is a reward in itself Elizabeth."

Ashe groaned, trying her best to hide the light shade of red that her face now developed. "Just shut up and name your price already."

"I want one of your father's revolvers. The gold plated one with engravings."

Ashe began to distribute the cards. "I going to throw that dumbass looking hat off a bridge once I win it."

"Did my hat do something to you or are you just mean?"

Ashe just shrugged and their game began just as Diaz walked into the room. He grabbed two beers from the fridge and walked out to the balcony where he found Taylor, and after greeting her, he tossed her one of the beers he grabbed. They drank in silence, Taylor only choosing to speak up once her beer was finished.

"Successful job the other day."

"I know." Diaz said "Those two aren't actually that bad."

"A few good jobs doesn't determine that Diaz." Taylor said coldly "What they do when a job goes to shit, that's how we can tell if they're good or not. If they'd stick with us or run with their tails between their legs."

"Where did this come from Taylor? Is this about-"

"Don't!" Taylor warned, though it was louder than she intended it to be "Don't say his name."

"Why are you comparing them to him? They are nothing like him."

"I can't trust them yet. You're right, they're good, better than I expected them to be but at the end of the day, those two are just kids."

"I'm twenty, I'm barely older than Ashe. How am I any different?"

"I've known a lot longer, I know I can trust you." Taylor said "I don't know if those two are loyal or not and I don't think I want to find out."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we cut them loose." Taylor said "Leave now before they get the chance to stab us in the back."

"Taylor, no. For once in our life we're in a good spot. We have three meals a day, a roof over our heads, hell I can go sa far as to say we even have friends and you're throwing all that away for what? Just because you're scared they might leave you? We will go back to where we were before if you keep on pushing everyone away."

"We can't be betrayed if there's no one to betray us."

"There you go again." Diaz said, throwing his hands up in frustration "No wonder you were a loner when we met. Where would you be now if I didn't join you."

"Let's get one thing clear asshole." Taylor said, jabbing her finger into Diaz's chest "You didn't join shit, I let you come with me. If I hadn't, you'd still be the same fifteen year old trying to rob a convenience store with a toy gun so he could get money for drug addict sister."

Diaz gave Taylor a hard shove backwards. "Don't bring her into this!"

Taylor shoved him back. "Or what?" she threatened "Don't talk like you know me, because you don't. We've been stuck together for years but that doesn't make us close. We're not friends, we're not lovers. We're just two people who fuck."

McCree yelling from inside took both their attention away from their fight just as it looked like it was about to get physical.

"If that's all I am to you, then why did you choose to stay with me for this long? There are others who can do that for me." Diaz asked.

Taylor didn't answer him. She just walked back inside, bumping him with her shoulder on the way back. "I'm leaving in the morning, whether you come with me or not is up to you."

Taylor walked past the living room, ignoring McCree's invitation to join their next game as she walked to her room. Diaz came back inside shortly after her.

"What's Taylor's problem?" McCree asked him "She completely blew me off."

"She just has a lot on her mind right now. Don't take it personally. So uh, what's going on with you two?" Diaz said, trying to change the topic.

It worked better than he expected, McCree immediately forgetting about Taylor as he began to talk about their game. "I just won a bet and a new revolver, right Elizabeth?"

"I can replace it within the night Jesse. It was just a gun."

"No need to be bitter Elizabeth." McCree said before handing his phone to Diaz "Take a picture of us will you? I want to make sure she never forgets about this."

Ashe rolled her eyes and began to clean up the cards while McCree posed with his new revolver. Diaz took the picture and handed McCree his phone back.

"I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." Diaz said, and after a few goodnights from Ashe and McCree, he walked to his room. _Their_ room. Taylor wasn't there when he arrived, though he wasn't surprised. He'd want some space too if they had a fight that big. That or she was preparing what she needed for her departure. He crawled into his bed and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry Taylor."

…

After waiting a few hours, Taylor creeped up to their room and opened the door a crack to see if Diaz was still awake. It took him forever to fall asleep, but once he was there was nothing waking him up. She heard him snore and she pushed the door open all the way as she began to pack her things. One look at the unruly mess that was Diaz's possessions, she realized that he chose to stay.

"Goddamit Diaz." She whispered. She didn't blame him. No matter how stubborn she was about it, Diaz was right. They were in a great place right now so it wouldn't surprise her that he'd want to stay. That, and what went down between them on the balcony.

Her words echoed back to her. What she said was uncalled for, though only realizing that now made her hate herself. The truth was, she couldn't ask for a better partner in crime. Taylor scoffed at herself. She couldn't even bring herself to say she was his friend. She kept pushing everyone away that she couldn't help but wonder why Diaz even stayed with her.

She was wrong. Diaz was her friend, maybe even something more, and she threw it all away by saying that the only value he has to her was the thing between his legs. She didn't want to leave him with the way they left things off. Scratch that, she didn't want to leave him. A voice in the back of her mind told her to wake his ass up and force him to come with her but she just ignored it. They both agreed that one would never force the other to do something they didn't want to, and breaking that promise would only fuck up their relationship more than she already has.

 _A partnership, not an ownership._ He would always say.

She finished packing and made her way to the door but she couldn't bring herself to turn the door knob. Not without a proper goodbye. She placed her bag down and walked to the side of Diaz's bed. Gently caressing the side of his face, Taylor couldn't help but smile when she saw Diaz subconsciously lean into her touch. She bent over and kissed him, putting more meaning into it than all their other kisses combined.

"Goodbye Diaz." She said.

She heard him whisper her name but she kept walking because she knew if she turned around, she wouldn't be able to leave. She walked out of the room, out of the estate, and out of their lives.

…

Diaz rolled to his side and strethed as he woke up, half expecting to see Taylor still asleep on the other bed. Even though he knew she already left, he was still disappointed not to see her. With a sigh, he got up and got dressed before making his way to the dining hall where Ashe and McCree were just finishing their breakfast. Ashe called for one of the kitchen staff when she saw Diaz and a plate of food was placed in front of him as he sat down.

"You seen Taylor?" McCree asked as Diaz began to eat "I wanted to ask her about the next job but I haven't seen her since I woke up. She's not one to sleep this late, you know where she is?"

"No idea."

"Really? Don't you two sleep together?"

Diaz nearly choked on his food. "What?"

"You two sleep in the same room right?"

"Y-yeah, we do." Diaz said "I just haven't seen her. She wasn't there when I went to bed or when I woke up."

"That's weird. Where do you think she is?"

"Jesse, you'll find Taylor when you find her." Ashe said "Stop bugging Diaz."

Diaz didn't know why Ashe interfered but he was thankful nonetheless since he was just about out of excuses. He knew they were going to find out anyway, but he wasn't telling them just yet. Despite how they left things off, he still wished she was safe, wherever she was.

…

"Excuse me? We're here."

Taylor stirred awake and after thanking the person sitting next to her for waking her up, she grabbed her things from the overhead compartment. She slung her bag over her shoulder and was about to walk off the bus when the stranger called for her.

"Leaving so soon?"

"Yes. You're supposed to get off the bus once it reaches its destination remember?"

"Oh right, must have slipped my mind."

Taylor hurried off the bus but the man behind her managed to catch up to her anyway. "We should go somewhere after this."

"No thanks, I have somewhere to be."

The man grabbed Taylor by the arm and yanked her closer to him. "I wasn't asking."

Taylor freed her arm annd shoved him backwards. "Fuck off. I'm warning you, try anything and I will rip your balls off."

She meant for it to be threatening but it only made the man chuckle. "Oh, I know you will Taylor."

"How did you…"

The man pulled a gun on her before taking his cap off. "Don't tell me you don't remember me anymore."

/

Sombra cracked open a beer and took a sip before distributing the rest of the six pack to the others, who all gratefully accepted it. All except for Reaper, that is.

"Come on Gabe, one drink won't kill you." Sombra said, coaxing him into drinking it.

"I don't drink. And it won't kill me because technically I'm not alive anymore."

"And the person who made you the way you are has also lost her humanity so why not celebrate?"

"No Sombra. Now get that can out of my face or its going down your throat and out your ass."

Moira came to Sombra's side and grabbed the beer from her hands. "I'll take it if you don't want it." She said "Always a stick in the mud Gabriel."

Everyone in the room turned quiet. They all knew Reaper and Moira long enough to know that even a comment as small as that was enough to start a fight between them. The tension had all of them on their toes as they waited for Reaper to make a remark about Moira as well but instead he just took the beer from Moira with a sigh.

"Fine. One drink and that's it."

Reaper took a sip and once it seemed that the tension has died down, the others continued drinking. Ashe walked over to Sombra and waited until both Reaper and Moira were out of earshot to ask what just happened.

"What was that? The two of them got into fights with way less provoking than that before."

Sombra furrowed her brow as if she was thinking why Reaper just shrugged off a comment that he would usually get mad over. That, or she was trying to stop the room from shaking, and given how much of a lightweight she was, it was probably the latter. "I don't know, this has been the longest they were in the same room without getting in a fight."

"Maybe they finally settled their differences."

Sombra scoffed. "I doubt it. They'll be down each other's throats before the day ends."

"Is that a bet?"

"Fuck off Ashe, I know you're rich."

"I'm not in it for the money Colomar, I'm after the thrill." Ashe said.

"Well you're not getting any from me."

"Not even for a thousand dollars?"

"This is 2076, not 2016. A thousand dollars will get you popcorn and a large soda at the movies." Sombra said "Let me choose how much I'll get and I'm in."

"Ok then, how much?"

"Let me see your wallet first, then I'll decide."

Ashe sighed before fishing her wallet out of her pocket. She opened it, completely forgetting about the old pictures of her and McCree she still had there. Sombra saw them and immediately drilled her about it because of course she does.

"I thought you're over McCree."

"I am." Ashe said as she tried to stow her wallet back in her pocket, but Sombra stopped her.

"Then why do you still have pictures of him with you?" Sombra asked "Throwing them away will only take a second and yet you choose to keep them. What do you think that implies."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was any of your business."

"It is if you turn on us to go join him."

Ashe crushed the beer can in her hand in frustration. "For the last time, I have no feelings for McCree."

"Don't think I didn't see your face when you found out the woman we captured was McCree's fiancee." Sombra said "You say that you don't give a rat's ass about that man but we both know you think about him whenever you're alone, especially when you're knuckles deep inside yourself."

Ashe let her anger flow through her and the next thing she knew her fist stung and Sombra was clutching her bloodied nose. "That bastard left me to go work with the law. That was one of the few rules I have and he broke it. If you think I still care about that traitor, you're dumber than I thought."

"What are you talking about?" Sombra asked "He didn't leave you, he-"

"The hell's going on here?" Doomfist arrived, towering over the two women as he asked his question.

"The bitch hit me."

"Oh, I thought it was something important. Just stay away from each other, you two are grown adults. Act like it."

Ashe groaned before making her way to the door. "I'm getting some air. Ask me that again Colomar and you won't be walking away with just a bloody nose."

She walked out and Sombra grabbed Doomfist before he could walk back. "She thinks McCree left her o his own. She doesn't know Reyes captured him and let him work for overwatch."

"So she has no idea she is working with the man who made McCree turn on her."

"Ashe was already reluctant to join us, what do you think would happen if she finds out?"

Doomfist stayed silent in thought. "For everyone's sake, let's make sure she doesn't."

/

"Michelle Taylor, age twenty four, wanted for breaking and entering, armed robbery and third degree murder."

Taylor glared at the one way mirror in the interrogation room while the officer in the room with her was reading her file aloud. She knew she was going to get caught the minute she bought that bus ticket to her old hometown, the only problem was she didn't know how she was going to escape. Why had she gone here of all places anyway? This was the one place she had sworn that she would move on from but there was no other place she could go to and she sure as hell wasn't going back.

"Hey, you listening or not?" The officer asked, snapping her out of her musings. She grunted at him as a response.

The man from earlier entered the room making Taylor's mood even more sour than it already was. He placed a hand on the officer's shoulder. "I'll take over from here." He said.

The officer stood up and left, leaving Taylor and the man alone. Neither of them said anything, which was fine with her since she had nothing to say to him, but unfortunately for Taylor, the man did.

"What are you doing here Taylor?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because you're wanted here and I'm a police officer. More importantly, you got out of here before and anyone with your criminal record would not risk getting caught where they are wanted. I know you're not dumb enough to go back if it doesn't have a very important reason so I'm asking you what that reason is."

Taylor leaned forward, acting as if she was going to whisper something. A gesture that got the man's attention. He leaned closer as well. "Fuck you." Taylor said.

The man groaned and leaned back to his chair in frustration. He eyed her up and Taylor was sure he was thinking of a new approach to this since what he's doing now is clearly not working. Taylor smirked. _Bring it on._

"Why are you by yourself? Where's Diaz?"

In the back of her mind, Taylor knew this question was going to come up sooner or later, but that didn't mean she was prepared to answer it. She glared at the man, who now wore the smirk she once had. He knew he had struck a nerve. Taylor tried to think of a lie that wouldn't give the others away.

"If you're not going to answer me then I'll just guess. He's dead isn't he? I wouldn't be surprised, he stuck with you for so long that what actually surprises me is that it took this long."

"Shut up." Taylor said through gritted teeth.

"Or maybe he left you. Again, I'm not surprised. You were manipulative, hotheaded and you treated him like shit but he still stuck with you. Until now that is. You didn't deserve him, you know that?"

"I said shut up!" Taylor knew he was pissing her off to the point that she would let something slip by accident. She tried to keep a cool head but the man in front of her was making it hard for her simply by reminding her of how much of a bad person she actually was.

"Wherever he is, even if he's dead, it's still a better place than when he was with you."

Taylor shot upward, kicking her chair backward and yanking the table she was handcuffed to. "Diaz never left me, I left him. I didn't want to get betrayed by the people we were with the same way you did to us!'

The man crossed his arms with a smirk. "So it's not just the two of you this time. Well whoever it is you were with, they are all influenced by you by now so they are all criminals as well. Tell you what, give them up and I'll do what I can to make your punishment as light as possible."

"You think you can get me to turn on them? The same way you did to us?" Taylor asked "No. I've already betrayed them once. I'm not doing it again."

"Have it your way." The man said as he got up. He walked to door and opened it, where two more officers were waiting. He walked out of the room. "You know what to do with her."

Taylor slumped back down into her seat and kept her head down as the two officers uncuffed her from the table, put new handcuffs on her and escorted her out of the interrogation room and into the prison bus waiting outside. She knew she brought this on herself, which was why she didn't want to involve the others. Although her sentence was not as bad as she's thought it would be, with the place she was being sent to, she was as good as dead.

…

"Enough bullshit Diaz, where's Taylor?" McCree demanded as he barged into Diaz and Taylor's room with Ashe right behind him.

"Sorry Diaz, I tried to stop him."

"I've searched every inch of this estate and I haven't found her. Where is she?"

"Calm down McCree." Diaz said "Why the hell do you want to know where she is anyway?"

"He's got a point Jesse. I want to know the details of the next job too but don't you think this is a bit much?"

"Think about it Elizabeth. A thief that knows where this place is just suddenly disappears. For all we know she could be bringing an entire army here to kill us so she can take all this for herself."

"That's not true and you know it. We're all each other has. It's always been just the two of us, do you really think she would leave me behind if she's going to do something that dangerous."

"I saw your face that night and during breakfast the next morning." McCree said "My father wore that face every time he and my mother fought. If whatever happened between you two that night was serious, then she could have easily left you in the dark the same way she did with us."

Diaz must have failed to hide the dismal expression on his face because Ashe put a hand on McCree's shoulder and pulled him aside so that she could be the one to talk to him instead, her tone firm but less urgent and demanding than McCree's.

"We don't know Taylor as long as you have. Is she the type of person to do that?"

"She used to be." Diaz said "But that's not why she left."

"How are you so sure?"

Diaz looked at Ashe and McCree with guilt. "Because that was what we fought about last night."

"What are you talking about?"

"Taylor was planning on us splitting up from you two." Diaz said "She didn't want to risk getting betrayed by you."

"Where'd she pick that up from?" McCree asked "If anything, we should be scared of you betraying us."

"Don't take it personally McCree." Diaz said with a sigh, knowing he had to go over the events that turned Taylor into the way she is all over again. "Back when we had done our first ever actual job together, we were backed into a corner on the escape. Just as we were about to be taken in, some guy managed to take out all the police officers and helped break us free. We were skeptical at first, but what choice did we have? We followed him out of there."

"I take it that that didn't end well."

"Clearly. I tried to tell Taylor to we should leave as soon as we get the chance but she wouldn't listen to me. That man somehow managed to win her trust, and eventually the three of us were pulling jobs together. One day, we were about to do a big one and he turned on us, turns out he was sent undercover to try and catch us. I wasn't surprised but Taylor was devastated. She was also so pissed off that we only managed to get out of being arrested because she had killed the entire squad sent after us. We both promised never to go back to that shithole and she has never let anyone else in after that. In fact, I don't even know why she let you two join us in the first place."

"And she left because of that?" Ashe asked.

"From what I could tell, yes."

"She couldn't have gone far if she only left last night."

"I don't know about that Elizabeth, there's a bus station about an hour from here, though I'm not sure where Taylor would go."

"The nearest place from here where she knows some people who can help her is our hometown but she wouldn't go there would she? Not when she still has a bounty on her head."

"You'd be surprised what someone without any options left is willing to do."

"Fuck, this is bad." Diaz said as panic began to creep up on his voice "This is very bad."

"Calm down Diaz, the worst that can happen is she gets arrested."

"That's the problem. You know why it was always just me and her pulling of jobs? Taylor and that man who betrayed us, Nicolas, they killed off any competition we had, most of them from rival gangs. Once Nicolas turned on us, he also arrested whoever was left from those gangs. If Taylor gets arrested, they will all be waiting for her."

"Come on then. We're going to break your promise." Ashe said as she yanked McCree and Diaz after her "We're going back to your hometown."

…

Taylor looked out the window, absentmindedly listening to the sound of chains clanking against the metal floor of the prison bus as it drove over the dirt road leading to the prison. As the bus neared its destination, where she knew all the killers wanting to avenge their gang members would be waiting for her, she found herself asking herself if this was what she really wanted.

"Scared, Taylor?" the only other inmate in the bus asked.

"Do I know you?" Taylor asked indifferently.

"No. But I do know you. You were that kid who was tearing up Santa Fe. You and that police lieutenant anyway. The three of you had so many gangs gunning for you."

Taylor tried her best to look unbothered. She crossed her arms as she looked at her. "Let me guess, you're in one of the gangs that want me dead?"

"Not really." The woman said, catching Taylor by surprise "My gang was never really affected by you. Hell, some of my members even idolized you three."

"A lot of good that's going to do me now."

"Oh don't be so down."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to worry about getting shived the minute you took a step inside the prison."

The woman chuckled. "That's just what you think. I bet you the first thing to cross those convicts' minds once we enter that shithole will be who they should stab first. In fact, the only person I'd be comfortable around while inside is you, so why don't we stick together?"

Taylor scoffed. "Even if we teamed up, we'd still be outnumbered so I'd rather not have someone else to worry about."

"You're so closed off, you know that? No wonder it was just three of you." The woman said, raising a hand when Taylor looked at her to show she didn't mean anything by that "Not having anyone to worry about also means no one will worry about you. No one to come bail you out of this mess."

"You're one to talk, I don't see anyone coming to your rescue."

"That's because I'm not supposed to be rescued. From where I come from, if one of us gets caught the others will do everything they can to get him or her back, but once it's not within our power anymore, the rest falls back so the loss we get won't be that big. I know that, we all know that. I just didn't have time to off myself before I got caught."

"Damn."

"I know, but it was comforting knowing that they tried."

"Too bad I can't say the same for me."

From the windshield, the headlights of the prison bus shone back at them. Almost as if it was reflecting against something metal. From the distance, two red dots appeared, getting closer and closer to the bus until it slammed against it, stopping the bus dead in its tracks and sending everyone inside it flying forward.

Taylor's vision was blurry, so much so that she didn't the guard get shot as he was stumbling out of the passenger seat. A man entered the prison bus and shot the driver as well before offering Taylor his hand. Taylor looked up at him.

"McCree?" she asked "You came back for me?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't we? Come on, Elizabeth and Diaz are waiting outside." McCree said as he took the keys from one of the guards to unlock her shackles.

As McCree and Taylor ran out of the bus, Taylor felt someone grab her ankle. She looked down and saw it was the other inmate.

"McCree give me the keys."

Taylor unlocked the other inmate and dragged her from under the broken seats. She helped her down from the bus, where the rest of them were waiting by their car, Ashe asking her why she brought the other inmate with her.

"She could come in handy." Taylor said before passing the inmate to McCree so he can help her get in the car, and so she can run over to Diaz who nearly fell over when she wrapped him in a hug. "I am so sorry Diaz. For what I said and for leaving."

Diaz rubbed her back. "Its fine, you're safe now."

Ashe heard sirens in the distance and pushed Taylor and Diaz inside the car. "I'm not so sure about that. Celebrate later, we have to go."

With McCree behind the wheel, they sped away from the broken prison bus. "Can you see how many are behind us?"

"No." Ashe said "But there's a lot of them. We can't go back to the estate, they could follow us there."

"We can't just keep driving, they'd swarm us."

"I know where we can go." The inmate said "Take a right."

"I hope you know what you're doing lady."

McCree followed all the directions the inmate gave him and they ended up in an alley blocked off by a broken down garbage truck.

"It's a dead end. You got us trapped!"

"Relax, I know what I'm doing. Just fight off the cops for as long as you can."

Groaning, McCree stepped out of the car with his revolver out with Ashe and Diaz behind him. Ashe sent Bob out who jumped in the air, crushing the first police car under him then grabbing the second car and throwing it into the other police cars approaching them.

He was walking back to them when a shot rang out, hitting him in the back and taking his arm clean off making oil leak from the now broken joint. He stumbled forward before another shot took his leg off. He fell down right at Ashe's feet. She dropped her gun and began to drag Bob back into cover and nearly took a bullet herself had McCree not tackle her to ground where they were both shielded by Bob's body.

Ashe was flat on her back with McCree lying on top of her. She felt something poking at her inner thigh and despite the situation, she felt herself blush.

"Jesse…"

"Relax, it's just my other gun." He said before taking a flash bang from his belt. "As soon as it goes off, run back to the others."

McCree threw it and after a flash of light, Ashe bolted towards the car with McCree right behind her. Ducking inside a crevice in between the two building in the alley, McCree got covered in dust as another shot barely missed his head and hit the wall he was standing behind.

"Keep your heads down, that's a fifty cal!" McCree yelled as he blind fired his revolver into the crowd of police officers pushing towards them.

"I'm out!" Diaz yelled.

McCree looked at Ashe's discarded gun by Bob's side. Having used up the last of his ammunition, he thought of going for it. Ashe saw the way he was looking and realized what he was planning to do.

"Jesse don't!"

McCree ignored her and threw his last flash bang before diving for the gun. Cocking it, he peeked out where an officer was already on top of him. In a panic, he fired off the rifle, hitting the officer's gun. He fired the rifle again and threw the officer's body off of him before sliding the gun towards Ashe. He popped up from behind Bob and fired again, his bullet finding the broad side of a riot shield one of the officers was holding.

Over his shoulder, the other officers were firing at them, making sure none of them were able to peek safely as the approached them. McCree blindfired what's left of the rifle's ammunition in a desperate attempt to push them back though he knew it was no use. He was about to surrender when they all heard something fire, the something embedded itself at the feet of the officer with the shield.

It detonated and sent all of the officers flying backward, especially the one with shield, who absorbed most of the blast. While the other officers scrambled to get up, multiple people peeked out of the windows of the buildings they were sandwiched between and fired at them, killing everyone in a hail of bullets. One of them turned to McCree and fired at him as well, hitting him in the arm.

"Stop! Stop shooting!" the other inmate, who had stayed inside the car for most of the encounter, yelled at the shooters inside the building "They're with me. They helped me escape, now get down here so we can sort this shit out."

…

The other inmate, whose name was apparently Naomi, was talking to the shooters while Ashe was tending to McCree's wound. Then there was Taylor, who was trying to think of how she was going to approach Diaz after the events of yesterday. The two of them hadn't really gotten the chance to talk yet, and although she was thankful that things were finally quiet, she wished there was something else to distract them so she wouldn't have to do this.

Awkwardly approaching Diaz, who was trying to salvage what was left of the guns, she was about to say something when he beat her to the punch.

"Came to thank me, or to apologize?"

"Both."

Diaz leaned against the car and crossed his arms. "I'm listening."

Taylor sighed. "When I got caught, Nicolas was the one who interrogated me. The things he said to me-"

"Don't listen to that asshole Taylor. He knows exactly what to say to get to you."

"That doesn't matter if what he says is right." Taylor said "He told me I didn't deserve you and dammit, he wasn't wrong. Why did you stay with me Diaz? Everything I did to you, everything I didn't do, what stopped you from leaving?"

"I'm surprised you care. We're just fuck-buddies, remember?"

Taylor knew this was coming, but that doesn't mean she was prepared to answer it. "Look, I was wrong alright? You are my friend, and I didn't appreciate you until I almost lost you. There is no one I would rather have at my side than you, but after what happened the other night, I don't blame you if you don't feel the same way anymore."

Diaz just stared at her before getting up and giving her a hug. "It's fine."

"Diaz, I-"

"Taylor, its fine. We're good."

Taylor smiled and gave Diaz one more squeeze before letting go. "Does this mean we're going to-"

"No. you're going to have to earn that back." Diaz said "For tonight, why don't we just cuddle?"

Taylor chuckled. It was worth a shot. "I'd like that."

The two of them walked back to the others, where Ashe was now talking Naomi. The two of them seemed to have agreed on something just as Taylor and Diaz showed up.

"What's going on?"

"Do you know why we nearly got killed today Taylor?"

Taylor shrugged. "There was only, like, five of us."

"Exactly." Ashe said "We have the resources, but not the manpower. Naomi and her people are the exact opposite, there's too many of them, and not enough resources to go around."

"I have a feeling I know where this is going." Diaz said.

"Depends, because Naomi and I were talking, looks like this gang is getting a lot bigger."

"You know how much of a risk we're taking here?" Diaz asked.

"She's right Elizabeth." McCree said, having just finished bandaging his arm. "What's stopping them from turning on us?"

"The same reason the three of you haven't turned on Ashe yet." Naomi said "We all have nowhere to turn to. Even if we kill you and take everything you have, we'd run out eventually. We can help each other out here, but only if you let us."

Taylor looked at Naomi then to Ashe. "You better be right Ashe."

McCree sighed. "Alright then. So what does that make us?"

"Us? Well that makes the four of us founders of this gang Jesse." Ashe said. "The Deadlock Gang."


	9. Chapter 9

/

McCree woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air as he tried to make out his surroundings. It was dark, he was still in his room, he knew that for sure. Now that he was fully conscious, he remembered what woke him up in the first place.

"Angela." He whispered to himself.

That night kept replaying itself over and over again in his mind. How Mercy turned on him, how she knew the fact that she wasn't herself anymore, how she had killed herself. Everytime he tried to sleep, it was all he could think of, and each time it hurt just as much as the first time he saw it happen. Could he have done something different? Something that could have saved Mercy?

He knew that is she were still here, she'd tell him not to dwell on the past. On the things he had done or the things he failed to do. She'd tell him to focus on the future, on making the world a better place but the fact was, she wasn't here anymore. It was just him left, and the only thing on his mind right now is to kill the ones who took her away.

Grumbling, he got up and got dressed. The sun was starting to peek through the blinds on his window so he might as well get up. Not that he was going to be able to fall back to sleep anyway. On the way to the cafeteria for breakfast, he found himself walking by the medbay as a force of habit, since that was always the route he took so he can check if Mercy had fallen asleep there again.

Of course he wasn't expecting to see her there, but he did see someone who fell asleep. He walked inside to wake the person up, and upon closer inspection he found out that the person in question was actually Mei.

Gently shaking her, McCree woke her up in a low voice. "Hey, that hard desk looks uncomfortable. Why don't you sleep on an actual bed?"

Mei groaned before raising her head slightly. "What time is it?"

"Doesn't matter, just go back to your room so you can sleep properly."

Mei sighed as she gathered her things. "I look like mess don't I?"

"Well, its nice that you're dedicated to your work."

"Don't patronize me Jesse, I'm older than you."

"Technically, you're still thirty-one."

Mei chuckled before a thought crossed her mind. One that had wiped the smile from her face. "You used to do this for Angela didn't you?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, especially to you."

McCree shrugged it off but what Mei had said only brought up the fact that he would no longer be doing this with Angela, or anything at all for that matter. He tried to hide it from Mei, hoping that if he acted like everything was going to be ok, it actually might be.

"Its fi-"

Mei cut him off by wrapping her arms around him. "Don't you dare say its fine because you know damn well its not."

Gritting his teeth as he tried to hold his tears in, a small thank you was the only thing he was able to mutter as he hugged Mei back.

"Losing Angela affected all of us you know." Mei continued "You don't have to suffer by yourself. If you want to talk, I'm here. We all are."

"Thank you."

Mei smiled at him before going off to her room. McCree stood there for a few more seconds before leaving as well, going to the cafeteria to get breakfast. He sat down at a table and began to eat, Pharah joining him shortly after. She sat down in front if him, her expression suggesting that she wanted to say something, but for some reason couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Something on your mind Fareeha?"

Pharah nibbled a bit on the food on her fork before she began to speak. "Winston and the others got a lead on Talon and they're going after them."

"Why were you so nervous to say that?" McCree asked.

"Jesse, I…" Pharah said reluctanlty "…I think you should sit this one out. You're too close to this."

"Seriously? I'm too close to this?" McCree asked, unknowingly raising his voice "Jack and Ana were the ones who brought her in when her hometown was slaughtered by Talon. Those two practically raised her. How are they any different from me?"

"They love Angela. You're in love with Angela. Those are two different things."

"They're still close. Why does our relationship matter?"

"Something that personal clouds your judgement. Tell me, what will you do when we catch them?"

"What do you think Fareeha?"

"See, that's what I'm talking about Jesse!" Pharah yelled "You kill them in cold blood and you're no better than them."

"Don't tell me you're defending them Fareeha. If we take them in, for all they've done they'll be killed anyway. What difference does it make if I do it?"

"If you let your anger take over you it will consume you."

"And where did you pick that bullshit up from?"

"From Reyes." Pharah said "Remember the mission that exposed blackwatch to the public? Reyes was so pissed at the man you were chasing that he gunned him down. After that, it all went downhill feom there until he blew up the Swiss headquarters."

"I'm not Reyes." McCree said.

"You say that now, kill them out of anger and let's see if you can still say that."

That rebutle turned both of them silent, neither of them wanting to push thhe argument further which was good since Ana approached their table, looking more reluctant to say something than her daughter was a few minutes ago.

"Jesse, come with me. We need to talk."

With a sigh, McCree followed her, expecting her to try and talk him out of coming with them as well, and when they reached the breifing room where Soldier, Reinhardt and Torbjorn were waiting, his thought were all but confirmed. He could tell something was off though. Their expressions were a mess of guilt and remorse. The same expression Angela always had when she had to tell her victim's families that there was nothing she could do to save their loved one anymore.

This unnerved McCree. "What's going on?"

"Take a seat McCree. You need to see something." Reinhardt said, the usual thundering boom of hiis voice now sounding meek. Whatever this was about, it must be very bad if even he was brought down by it.

Soldier requested Athena to play a recording of a security footage. In the video was the inside of one of overwatch's armored vehicles, where two agents just sat in silence, one of them focused on driving while the other was tinkering with his rifle.

"What am I watching?"

"This was the transport that's in charge of bringing Angela's body back to her hometown." Ana said.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" McCree asked, the fact that he was offended not lost in his voice.

Ana didn't react to him. "Just keep watching."

McCree sighed in anger but kept watching anyway, and after a bit, a sound cane from the back of the vehicle. The area where Mercy's body was. Black smoke began to fill the vehicle until nothing could be seen anymore. He heard the two agents struggling then the vehicle crash. Once the smoke cleared, the driver was dead and the other agent was crawling out of the now lopsided truck through the broken windshield.

The agent managed to get back on his feet as the black smoke began to approach him. She managed to fire off a few shots from her rifle but it made no difference as smoke killed her as well. At this point, Athena had cut the feed leaving McCree to sit there in silence and he tried to take in what he just saw. It wasn't really shown in the video, but he knew exactly who that was in the video.

"Jesse-"

"Don't try and talk me out of coming with you Ana. Those fuckers crossed the line, if anyone's killing them, its going to be me."

McCree left the briefing room before anyone could argue with him. He went to the armory and opened his old locker where he stowed his second revolver years ago. He picked it up and examined it in the light. Although it was rather dusty, the gold plating still shone the way it did when he first got it. Same goes for the beauty of its engravings and ivory grip. He shook his head and gave a small smile now that he hhad cooled off a bit. He still could believe Ashe let him choose any revolver he wanted.

Ashe…

He suddenly remembered Ashe was involved with Talon now. She seemed new to it when he encountered them at Torbjorn's home, but she was still with them nonetheless. She still played a part in Mercy's death, no matter how small. He was going to kill the others, that was for sure, but as for Ashe, well that made him think twice. If it comes down to it, he'll kill her if he needs to, but what if he doesn't have to? He can't just let her go, but he can't kill someome who has been through as much with him as Ashe either.

"Looks like you're pulling that thing out again." Torbjorn said, bringing McCree back down to earth.

McCree looked at the revolver and shrugged. "Six bullets just won't cut it this time."

"You're really going to do this aren't you?"

"Like I said, don't try and talk me out of this."

"I'm not." Torbjorn said defensively. "I just want to see if you're sure about this or not."

"I'll go by myself if I have to. Is that serious enough for you?"

"Then I won't stop you."

"Good." McCree said before setting both his revolvers onto the table in the armory. "Can you make me bullets?"

"You doubt my abilities McCree." Torbjorn said, already starting to ready his workspace. "How many plasma rounds do you need?"

"As much as you can make." McCree said "But use lead, not plasma. And make it jacketed."

"That would take longer to make. I'd have to use a different machine for that. Something that I haven't used in a long time. I doubt it will even run at this point."

"I don't care, I'll wait."

Torbjorn sighed but got to work anyway. "Any reason you prefer something as primitive as actual physical ammunition over plasma?"

"Lead hurts more, and if its jacketed it means the bullet stays inside them." McCree said "They made it personal, and I want to hurt those motherfuckers as much as I can."

…

Ashe kept her hands firmly on her gun, ready to fire should the situation call for it. Sombra, being the asshole that she was, noticed her tension and decided to have some fun with her.

"What's wrong Ashe? You're griping your rifle so hard your knuckles are white."

"What do you think? You're not taking this seriously." Ashe said "Hell, you don't take anything seriously. No wonder Reyes is always pissed at you."

"Gabe's like that to everyone. How am I any different?"

"He hates you more."

Sombra just shrugged. "Look at my face and see if I care."

"You clearly don't. That's the problem. You don't care as much as you should."

"And you care too much. You can't please everyone Ashe, why bother trying?"

"I don't need people to like me. I need them to respect me." Ashe said, jabbing a finger at Sombra "That's what makes me a good leader."

"Which means you still care about what others think about you."

"Why are you giving me shit about that? I care about my image, so what?" Ashe said "In fact, if anyone should be taking any shit here it should be you. If you keep acting the way you do, you'll be the first to die out of all of us."

"That doesn't seem like a bad thing for you."

"Well you're not exactly likeable the way you've been acting."

Sombra shrugged. "Whatever. Everyone in my old gang seems to think otherwise."

"Well sleeping with all of them definitely changed their mind didn't it?"

Ashe didn't need to look at Sombra to know her fist was already cocked back. She stood her ground, ready to take a punch and even more ready to give one back. Before any of that could happen though, Doomfist yelled at them from behind. Sombra grumbled a cuss that Ashe paid no attention to. Doomfist walked closer, placing himself in between the two of them.

"The two of you just love to be down each other's throats don't you?"

Ashe just shrugged as a response. She looked at the body bag Doomfist was carrying over his shoulder. "I don't recall Reyes telling me what we're doing with that body."

"That's because he didn't." Doomfist said "Everything with him is on a need to know basis and apparently you didn't need to know."

"Well, ok then."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't know what this is for either. I'm just the one carrying it."

Ashe chuckled. "That obvious, huh?" she asked "Being a leader and all, I'm just not used to not knowing something, especially if its for the gang."

They all walked for a bit more until Reaper told them to stop. Ashe looked around, they were standing in the middle of a town whose residents were well past asleep. The anxiety that had left Ashe when Sombra argued with her had returned. Her grip on her rifle was tighter than ever. "Reyes, what exactly are we doing here?" she nervously asked.

"You'll see." Reaper said, his usual grim monotone voice showing that he wasn't nearly as worried as everyone else. "Lacroix, contact that fatass, tell him we're here."

They all stood around, waiting for whatever it was they were there for. A jingling sound broke the silence and immediately after it, a gigantic man came into view, gas mask covering his face and tattoos covering his stomach. At his hip was a metal hook and chain on one side, and on the other was a gun closely resembling Ashe's coach gun, though it was larger and looked like it was just scrap thrown together.

Reyes approached the man. "I take it that you haven't forgotten about our agreement."

"Only if you held up your end of the deal." The man said, his mask slightly muffling his voice.

Reaper nodded to Doomfist and he set the body bag on the ground and opened it. Knowing next to nothing about this mission, this was the first time Ashe saw who was inside the body bag. She stood behind Doomfist and peeked over his shoulder where she saw a shirtless man covered in what looked like ashes. In the place of two of his limbs were a prosthetic arm and a peg leg.

"Whose corpse is that?"

"That's not a corpse." Widow said as she approached the body and injected something in its arm. Ashe watched as the body wriggled a bit before shooting upward, the man taking a deep breath as he did.

"What the fuck did you do to me?"

"Shot you with a tranquilizer while you were in the prison transfer bus. When the officers thought you were dead and brought your body in for autopsy, we just stuffed you in a body bag and walked out."

"And who said you could do that?"

Widow pointed at the huge man in front of her. "He did."

The man got up from the body bag and looked at who Widow was pointing at. "Did he? Aww, that's so sweet Roadhie, you were worried about me."

"I was worried I wouldn't get paid."

"Oh whatever. Thank you none the less."

"That accent." Ashe said, lowering her weapon as she studied the two of them more closely. "You're australian aren't you?"

"Born and raised. Jaimson Fawkes by the way, though people back home call me junkrat."

"That's because you're just vermin to them."

"Oh shut up." Junkrat said "Tubby over there is Mako Rutlege, or rooadhog if you will."

"Australia huh?" Doomfist said "King's row is awfully far from home. What are you doing here?"

"See that payload over there?" Junkrat asked "That thing is an emp of sorts. We bring it to the heart of the city and we shut down every omnic here."

"And who's paying you to do that?" Moira chimed in "It doesn't seem to have any advantage to anyone."

"It isn't. No one's paying us to do this, we're just doing this to kill those pesky good for nothing scrap metals."

"So you risked going to prison just to take out some innocent omnics?"

"There are no innocent omnics." Roadhog said, his monotone voice now showing signs of anger. "Those metal bastards tore up our home and they'll do the same to everywhere else if we keep them alive. In fact, I don't know why I'm standing here just staring at one instead if pumping it full of lead."

Roadhog began to approach Bob when Ashe stepped in between them. "Touch him and both of you will be actual corpses."

"That's enough." Reaper said, who up until now stayed out of everything. "If you would all stop bickering like children can we finally get to business?"

"You tell me Reyes, because up until now I have no goddamn idea as to why we're here in the first place." Ashe said.

"I will give you the details soon. Just get your asses in the ship before we get caught."

…

McCree walked to the ship, the hangar so quiet that the loudest thing he could hear was the jingling of the spurs on his boots. Damn he got up early.

"It's awfully far from high noon, innit?" Tracer asked, popping her head out of the cockpit, slightly startling McCree.

He sighed. "What are you doing here Lena?"

"I'm a pilot remember? Since I'm the one flying us today I have to make sure everything works properly and that takes a while. What about you? Pretty rare to see you this early."

"Well I had to make sure ya'll won't leave without me seeing as how all of you keep telling me to back off."

"Don't tell me you don't see where they're coming from though."

"I do. That doesn't change my mind."

"It should."

"If you're just going to tell me the same thing the others have been telling me just save your breath because I'm tired of hearing that shit." McCree said.

"I'm not saying anything Jesse so drop the tone. I'm speaking to you nicely so the least you could do is to treat me the same way." Tracer said.

McCree sighed as he sat down on the ship's entrance. "Sorry. It's just that everyone's been on my case since Angela died. I just assumed you were too."

Tracer sat down beside him. "Aww, poor Jesse. Everyone's giving him a hard time. What ever will he do?"

"You're pushing it Lena."

"Relax, I'm taking the piss." Tracer said "Personally, I'm not worried about how your feeling affect your performance, I'm worried about how it affects you once we catch them. What do you plan on doing?"

"I think that much is pretty clear Lena."

"See? That's why everyone's telling you to back off. They could probably have information we could use but they won't be able to give it up if they have a bullet in their head."

"So we take what we need then we kill them."

"Yeah, then we'd get what they know right now. What about in the future? We can still use them."

McCree pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't tell me you want to keep them alive."

"Of course I don't but as long as they are still useful we have to."

"Then stop me if you have to, but if I'm left alone, I'm going to kill them the first chance I get."

Tracer stayed silent after that remark, which was the best response McCree could have hoped for from her. With all the preparations done, Tracer had nothing left to do so she and McCree just sat there as they waited for the others which both of them had no problem with since they were close enough that it wasn't awkward. At least until McCree asked a question.

"How did you come out to your parents?"

"Excuse me?"

"Drop the act Lena, everyone knows you like girls."

"That's common knowledge and its not the issue here." Tracer said "You deserve a kick between the legs for a question like that."

"We've been discussing something personal about me. This just makes us even."

"That also makes you a twat. Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Maybe it can help convince Fareeha to do the same." McCree said.

"Wait, Ana doesn't know? Its pretty obvious."

"That's because the two of you are the same. Your gaydar is way more accurate than the rest of us."

"Gaydar?" Tracer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, the ability to see someone who's…nevermind."

Tracer gave him a chuckle. "Why am I friends with you again?"

"You wanted to get closer to Angela." McCree said flatly, which only made Tracer laugh.

"That's right. Then I found out you two were together, so I got drunk and met Emily through what would have just been a one night stand, so I guess it all worked out."

Torbjorn soon arrived in the hangar, handing McCree a box. "That's the most I can make since that damn machine kept breaking down."

Tracer peeked inside the box and saw the bullets McCree had Torbjorn make for him. She picked one up and examined it. "I haven't seen one of these in a long time. Why go with lead?"

"He said it would hurt more." Torbjorn said. "He's making things personal."

"I would imagine." Tracer grabbed McCree's second revolver before he could stop her. "You're even using this. Didn't that woman with the omnic give this you?"

McCree yanked the revolver from her. "Yes. Nothing says 'fuck you' more than being killed by your own weapon."

"Jesse, what did I tell you?" Tracer warned.

"If you don't want me to kill them, you better be prepared to stop me."

Despite the tension, Tracer just smirked at McCree. "We'll see."

…

Reaper sat at the edge of the bed as he put his pants back on.

"I don't think we should have brought those two along." Moira said as she picked her clothes up from the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"The australians." Moira said "One of them seems…unstable. And the fat one is too stioc. I don't like that I can't get a proper read on him. Who knows, he might just turn on us out of nowhere."

"We always have that threat whenever we bring in someone new. Besides, we only need them to deal with the omnics in the area we're headed to. If you're that bent out of shape about it we can just cut them lose afterwards, although I feel like they can be useful."

Moira began to rearrange the mess that was her bed just as Reaper finished getting dressed. "We'll just have to wait and see." She said "Now get out of my room."

Reaper stood up and the room began to fill up with black smoke as he prepared to teleport, making Moira cough. "I meant through the door Reyes. You know, like a normal person."

"And risk getting spotted coming out of your room? I'd rather not let the others know I've been sticking it inside someone like you."

Moira groaned. "God, I hate you." She said "Be here same time tomorrow."

Reaper flipped her the bird, and with that, he vanished into thin air. He reappeared in his room just as someone was knocking on his door. He opened it to see Ashe waiting outside. With an annoyed groan, he asked her what she wanted.

"What exactly are we planning to do? I don't feel comfortable blindly following what I'm told."

"Now you know how your goons feel."

"No I don't because I keep everyone in my gang updated about what we're doing." Ashe said "I want to know what our next move is."

"I get it, you're a leader. Back where you come from, everything that happens has to go through you first, but here its different." Reaper said "Here, you're no leader. You're just like everyone on this ship, not above them."

"So that makes me equal to everyone, right?" Ashe asked "Everyone including you, so I have the right to know as much as you do if we're following your logic."

Reaper pinched the bridge of his nose, or rather what's left of it. "Jesus christ, you're just as insufferable as McCree. What's with your kind?"

"First of all, don't mention that bastard's name." Ashe warned "And what the fuck do you mean by 'my kind'?"

"Common criminals. I swear, you're all the same."

"Because you're so unique aren't you? With your skull mask and your black trench coat and your shotguns. You know what you are? You're what happens when some twelve year old is trying way too hard to draw someone cool."

Reaper grabbed Ashe by her shirt yanked her towards him, staring her dead in the eyes. "We're headed to the red zone. Sombra says she might be able to get us some reinforcements. The australians are just here for back up. You happy?"

Ashe grit her teeth, nails digging into her palms. "Get your hands off me."

Reaper let go and Ashe fell back to the ground. She was about to say something when Reaper shut the door on her face. "Asshole." She said under her breath before storming off. Entering her quarters, she tossed her boots off and walked to the balcony, cigarette in hand.

She lit it, inhaled before making a little ring from the smoke as she exhaled it. A little trick she learned from McCree. She felt her blood boil as that bastard manage to make his way into her mind again. It only managed to piss her off more, and she was already pretty pissed from that encounter with Reaper.

She tossed the cigarette butt from the balcony as hard as she can. "Don't compare me to that traitor." She said to no one in particular.

"Someone's in a sour mood." Widowmaker said, startling Ashe.

"Lacroix? How'd you get in here?"

Widow emerged from the chair she was sitting on in the dark corner of the room. "I'm an assassin Ashe, this is second nature to me."

"So you're experienced in sulking in the dark. What do you want?"

"Answers." Widow said, joining Ashe on the balcony. "You seem to get heated when it comes to that cowboy."

Ashe sighed. "Did Colomar put you up to this?"

"Normally I wouldn't humor her but for once she has a point."

"I hate the bastard, so what? Reyes is the same whenever that soldier is involved but you don't do this to him do you?"

"That's because its clear what's going on between them. You and McCree, not so much."

"What's not clear between us?!" Ashe said, raising her voice. If she wasn't pissed before, she was now.

"Your relationship. You two were close back then. Too close that it makes me wonder if the reason you want to get him is because you're angry he left you."

"Damn right I'm angry he left."

"But not for the reason you keep telling yourself." Widow said "You're mad he left because you still have feelings for him."

Ashe was about to argue but Widow raised a finger and stopped her. "I didn't ask if it was true because you'll just say it isn't. You can deny all you want but we both know it is."

Ashe didn't respond. She didn't know what to say. "Don't take this personally Ashe, I'm only doing just to make sure." Widow continued "I for one don't care as long as it doesn't interfere with our mission. Help us get what we want and you can do whatever you want to him afterwards."

"It won't interfere." Ashe reassured "Because the next time I see him, I'm putting a bullet in his head."

…

"Where exactly are we headed Ana?" Tracer asked.

"Torbjorn managed to put a bug on Moira before she escaped. According to her, they're planning to head to the red zone, so we're going after them, try to stop whatever they plan on doing before they can do it."

"What could they possibly want to do there?" Soldier asked.

McCree scoffed. "More importantly, why are we stopping them? No one ever came back from that place, why stop them from trying to kill themselves?"

"Think about it McCree." Ana said "Reyes knows that more than anyone and yet they chose to go there anyway. That means there's something there that's worth the trouble, and we have to stop them from getting it."

"Just for those who weren't there when Overwatch was first formed, what's the red zone?" Tracer asked.

"After the first omnic war, the ones that weren't destroyed all gathered in some town in the middle of nowhere." Reinhardt said "They have been sitting there for more than a decade but any strike team sent by overwatch or any other agency to investigate never returned. Eventually its just been agreed upon to just let them be but keep them under surveillance at all times. There hasn't been much activity in the last couple of years though."

"Then we better stop Talon before they reach it." Tracer said "You said Torbjorn had a bug on Moira didn't you? Is it still active?"

"I'm tracking her at the moment. We're ahead of them but not by much. If we want to catch them before they reach the red zone we need to be going faster."

"Hold on then." Tracer said before firing up the ship's thrusters.

Torbjorn was right about them barely being in the lead because as soon as they landed, a Talon ship was seen overhead and they almost had no time to prepare for the confrontation. Ana, McCree, Soldier and Tracer all stood behind Reinhardt's shield while Pharah and Torbjorn stayed in the ship, ready to fire its weapons at a moments notice.

The Talon ship landed a reasonably far distance from them with Ashe annd Widow the first ones out, snipers trained on them. Reaper, Moira and Doomfist got off the ship as well, putting all of them in a standoff.

"The hell are you doing here Reyes?" Soldier yelled.

"I could ask you the same question. We've got bussiness here that you have nothing to do with, so why don't you scurry back off to your ship and fuck off and we can forget any of this happened."

"The hell we will, asshole." McCree said "Not after what you did to Angela."

"Aww, did I hurt your feelings kid? The bitch had it coming, after what she did to me."

McCree fired a shot at Reaper's feet. "Last chance Reyes! Drop your guns!"

All that just made Reaper chuckle. "Looks like you finally grew a pair. I gotta say though kid, if you're trying to intimidate me, its not working."

Despite the objections of the others, McCree fired another shot, this time grazing Reaper's arm. "I mean it Reyes. Guns on the floor. The next shot won't be a warning anymore."

"You're pissed, I get it. That's why I'm letting that slide, but you must know there is no way you're going to win here so if there's anyone here he should surrender, its you."

"Oh really? What makes you so confident?"

They all heard an engine start up, though it didn't sound like either of their ships. It sounded like one from an old engine, and it revved up. From the far end of the Talon ship, they saw a wheel with spikes speeding towards them. Once it was close enough, it somehow managed to jump. Reinhardt aimed his shield upwards just as the wheel exploded, sending them flying backwards and shattering Rein's shield as it did.

As they all scrambled to get back on their feet, Reaper and the others began to shoot at them, mostly at Reinhardt, chipping away at his armor. Soldier yelled for Torbjorn and soon, their ship's guns fired at their attackers, forcing them to duck behind cover. They hid behind cover as well, getting their shit together as they prepared to fight.

Ana was treating Reinhardt's injuries with her biotic rifle while McCree, Soldier and Tracer were covering them. McCree was reloading his revolvers when a glowing red ball landed at their feet. He heard it ticking and he kicked it as far away from them as he could, just as it exploded.

"Keep your eyes peeled, there's more where that came from."

Pharah flew up from the ship and into the skies, firing in the middle of the crowd, breaking Talon's formation as they all flew in different directions.

"Fareeha get back down here, they have snipers!" Ana yelled but McCree knew it was too late. He peeked out from his cover, shooting Widow just as she shot Pharah out of the air. She took a bullet to the shoulder while Pharah took a shot straight to the chest. She hadn't even landed on the ground yet when Reinhardt and Ana arrived, the former holding out his shield even though it hasn't fully recharged yet.

As if things couldn't get any worse for them, the ship's guns ran out meaning there was now nothing stopping Talon from pushing towards them, which was exactly what they did. Soldier turned his visor on in a desperate attempt to push them back and McCree focused, ready to fire six shots in quick succession if he had locked on properly. He had a clear shot on Ashe and he fired, only to have Bob jump in front of her and take the bullet, which might as well have been a mosquito bite for how affected he was.

"Oh shit."

Bob charged at them, leaping high into the air before landing in between them. He smacked Soldier to the side and would have done the same to McCree had Tracer not blinked him out of the way in the last second.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet Jesse." Tracer said "Help me kill this thing first."

"Gladly." McCree ran towards Bob, ducking under all of his hits, giving Tracer an opening, one that she used to blink onto Bob's back and set her pulse bomb onto him. Before she could detonate it though, a shot rang out, hitting her in the chronal accelerator.

She fell to the ground as it began to spark and the blue light began to die down. McCree ran to her side, kneeling down beside her. "Jesus christ, what…what can I do."

"Get me into cover, if this thing takes anymore damage I'll blink out of existence."

McCree nodded and lifted her up, gently placing her down inside a nearby building before rushing to rejoin the fight. He ran to where Soldier was, his healing station placed down as he recovered from his injuries.

"I'm almost out McCree, and that omnic isn't making things any easier." Soldier said.

McCree pulled out both revolvers. "You see that bomb on its back?"

Soldier nodded and they both peeked out, a bullet whizzing in between their heads.

"Don't you dare shoot him you assholes!" Ashe yelled.

She fired another shot at their cover, showering McCree and Soldier in dust. "Fuck, now what?"

"I'll take care of her, just cover me."

McCree jumped out from their cover as Soldier and Ashe fired at the same time, Soldier taking Ashe's cover out with his rockets while Ashe hit him in the gut. With a revolver in each hand, McCree fired in opposite directions, one bullet hitting Ashe's arm, the other hitting the pulse bomb on Bob's back, detonating it and sending bits and pieces of him flying everywhere.

He heard Ashe yell but he gave it little thought as he charged at her. Dodging her shot as he rolled on the ground, he closed the distance between them allowing him to disarm her before she could get another shot off then throw her through the window of the building she was behind.

Ashe grabbed a shard of broken glass and sliced through McCree's shirt as he came in after her, exposing the armor he was wearing underneath. This gave her enough time to scramble away from him and get up.

"No more Bob to help you here Ashe. Just you and me."

"That's exactly how I want it." Ashe grabbed a book on a nearby table and threw it at McCree before charging at him, giving him a kick that he barely managed to block. She continued, throwing as many hits his way in the hopes that one would break through. She kicked him at his side and McCree caught her leg, using it to grab her and throw her across the room.

McCree ran to her, only to get kicked between the legs, then on the face as he doubled over. Ashe got up abd brought her knee to his face before kicking him backwards. He managed to recover in time, side stepping Ashe as she charged towards him at the last second and elbowing her in thhe back to send her to the ground.

She landed with a hard thud, a sound that would soon be echoed as she kicked McCree's legs out from under him, sending him to the ground as well. They both struck at the same time, Ashe kicking him in the face again, while he kicked her gut so hard that she actually slid across the floor.

They both got up and charged at each other, both of them throwing a punch that would just sennd them back to ground, though being hit with a metal fist made Ashe recover way slower than McCree. Slow enough that he managed to pin her to the ground. He pulled out his second revolver and pointed it at Ashe's head.

"Jesse!" Tracer yelled, slightly shocking McCree since he was so caught up in their fight that he hadn't realized they were in the building he brought her in only moments ago.

"What do you want Lena?"

"I want you to put the gun down and remember what we talked about."

"Like hell I'm letting her live. Useful or not, she still helped kill Angela."

McCree pulled the hammer of his revolver back and he heard Tracer raise her gun and point it at him as a response. "I'm warning you Jesse."

"If you're going to shoot me, shoot me because that's the only way you're going to stop me."

"You're doing this for Angela right? If she was here, would she want you to do this?"

"That's just the thing Lena." McCree said "Angela's not here."

He pulled the trigger, only to realize that he used the last of his ammo to kill Bob. He scowled at Ashe.

"Lucky bitch."

The fight oustide was still ongoing, Reinhardt shielding the others as they retreated back to the ship. No, they weren't retreating, they were trying to get Talon to get closer to the ship. Once they were, Rein dropped his shield before smashing his hammer into the ground, causing it to crack and throw Talon off their feet. Once they were all lying down, Torbjorn jumped out of the ship and showered them with red hot molten metal.

"Get back to the ship!" McCree heard Reaper yell to his colleagues before they were now the ones who were retreating.

Once the Talon ship took off, they finally had time to look things over, have Ana take care of injuries and investigate what Talon were really trying to do there.

"Where have you two been?" Rein asked as Tracer and McCree returned, dragging a tied up Ashe behind them.

"Picking up a prisoner."


	10. Chapter 10

/

McCree eyed Ashe suspiciously, as if doing so would give him the answers he so desperately needed. He weighed his options, knowing that he'd have to make a move sooner or later, and knowing himself, he knew he'd make the wrong one. The timer sitting in front of him certainly wasn't helping either.

"Come on Jesse, we don't have all day."

"You rushing me isn't helping, Liza. Now shut up, I'm thinking."

Ashe leaned back on her chair with a disappointed sigh. "I knew we should have gone with speed chess."

"You saying I'm slow?"

"Jesse, it takes you five minutes to make a single move."

From the couch next to them, Taylor joined in on the conversation. "She's not wrong McCree. I'm getting bored just watching you."

"No one forced you to sit there and watch us, Taylor."

Taylor shrugged. "I had nothing better to do." She said before scooching closer to Diaz, who was sitting next to her. "Hey Diaz, what do you say we-"

"Nope." Diaz said, shutting her down "You haven't earned that back yet."

"Earned what back?" Ashe asked, though she knew exactly what the two of them were talking about.

Taylor sulked. "Shut up and just play your game Ashe."

"I would if Jesse would just make a goddamn move already."

"Alright, alright. Here." McCree said, moving his bishop.

Ashe smiled at him before trapping his king into a corner with one move. "Checkmate."

"Goddammit!"

"Sorry Jesse. Looks like I'm the one sleeping on the bed tonight."

"That's what you two are betting?" Taylor asked "I reckoned you would have wanted to sleep with McCree, Ashe."

Thankfully, McCree was too caught up on his loss that he didn't notice the blush that Ashe's face had developed. "We used to do that, but there's only so much sleeping positions we could be in before it gets awkward. For her anyway, I have no problem with sleeping with her."

"I have a feeling you're not the problem here McCree." Diaz said "Ashe just hasn't slept with a boy before."

"Oh, ok. Has she slept with girls before?"

 _Why? Why those choice of words?_

"No, I don't think so." Diaz said, his voice strained from trying to hold back his laughter.

"So I'm the first person you slept with?" McCree asked, finally making Diaz and Taylor break down in laughter.

Ashe was so red at this point that she had to keep her head down as she fixed the chess pieces because someone even as oblivious as McCree would notice. Before either Diaz or Taylor could make another comment, one of the estate's staff members approached her with her phone in hand, saying there was a call for her.

"Oh thank god." Ashe said "Who is it?"

"It's an unknown number, Miss Elizabeth."

"Maybe its Naomi." McCree said "She did say she'd reach out to us once she'd given everyone in her gang a chance to decide if they want to join us or not."

"He's right. Put it on speaker."

Ashe did as she was told and set her phone on the table. "Elizabeth Ashe speaking, who is this?"

"This is your parent's personal assistant, I'm calling about them."

Her parents. With everything that's happened in the past months, she completely forgot about her parents. About how they don't know that there were now three new people living on the estate. That, and the fact that their daughter was now technically a criminal.

"You still there?"

"Y-yeah, what about them?"

Ashe could feel the voice on the other end hesitate. "I'm calling from the hospital. Their private jet crashed on the way back to your estate."

Ashe didn't say anything so the assistant continued. "They're still alive but they're in critical condition. They're being operated on as we speak."

"Were they unconscious when they were found?"

"No. They were wide awake all the way to the hospital. In fact they were the ones that called me. They told me to notify the staff, and any other business partners they were supposed to meet up with. I figured I'd tell you first though, just so you'd know before anyone else did."

Ashe's suspicions were confirmed, and though she knew it would be, it still hurt. She thanked the assistant before hanging up the phone. She looked back up and saw the others staring at her, and remembered they were listening to the same call she was.

"Are you ok Ashe?" Diaz asked, to which she just shrugged off.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You heard that phone call right?" Taylor asked "Are you not worried?"

"Why should I be? They weren't worried about me. They crash their jet and the first thing that comes to their mind is to tell their employees and business partners, not me. They're more worried about their money than their fucking daughter so forgive me if I find it hard to care about them."

"That's bullshit." McCree said, who up until now didn't say anything.

"What?"

"You heard me." McCree said "You know how lucky you are? I'd do anything to get my parents back. I'm sure same goes for Diaz and Taylor and yet here you are, both parents still kicking and yet you don't give a shit."

"You don't know them the way I do Jesse. They were terrible parents."

"That doesn't matter. They're still your family." McCree said "They may be bad parents, but that doesn't mean you have to be a bad daughter."

McCree got up and stormed out of the room, leaving the three of them in an awkward silence until the phone rang again. Ashe kept it on speaker as she answered it.

"Hello?"

"It's Naomi. I gave everyone a chance to decide and they all seem to be on board, but they want to see you first. I'm sending you an address, it's not that far from your estate. About an hour or so. If you runinto any trouble, just say I called for you. That should stop them from shooting you."

"Should?"

Naomi chuckled. "Relax, I'm kidding. Partly. Just mention my name, you'll be fine."

"You better be right."

"I always am. See you soon."

Naomi hung up and Ashe got up. "I'll get the car ready, you two get McCree."

"No, we'll get the car ready, you go get our cowboy." Diaz said as he and Taylor got up.

"Why?"

"Because he's pissed at you."

"That's exactly why you two should go get him." Ashe said.

"No its not. If we get there and they see there's tension between the four of us, they'll doubt we're fit enough to lead them. Hell, they doubt us enough as it is since we're technically still kids. Except for Taylor, she's old."

"I'm twenty-four!"

"I'm twenty. You're old to me." Diaz said before turning back to Ashe "Fix things between you two. I'm serious."

Ashe waited a bit before setting off to fix things with McCree. She knew where he was going to be anyway. Whenever he needed to clear his head, whatever the reason may be, she'd always find him smoking at the balcony of the master bedroom. Their room.

She made her way there, and sure enough, he was standing there huffing away at a cigar. It wasn't until she was behind him that she realized she hadn't thought about what she was going to say yet. Thankfully, McCree spoke first.

"What do you want?"

"Naomi called. She asked us to meet up with her."

McCree stubbed out his cigar on the railing of the balcony, still not turning around to face Ashe. "That all?"

Ashe clenched her fist. She wasn't backing down. For once, she's throwing her pride out the window. "No, it's not." She said "My parents may be terrible, but that doesn't change how insensitive I was to you guys."

"That's not what I'm mad about."

"I know, that's just what I'm apologizing about first." Ashe said "Look, I want to worry about them but the way they were just makes it impossible to me. I've been trying ever since I was a child, and every time my anger towards them is the only thing I feel."

McCree sighed before finally facing her. "I'm not going to pretend I know how it was like for you growing up." he said "But they're still your family. You have to fix your relationship with them sooner or later."

"I know." Ashe said "But for now, I'm more worried about our relationship."

McCree stepped down from the balcony and walked past Ashe. "Don't worry, we're good." He said as he made his way to the garage with Ashe, now sporting a goofy grin, right behind him.

/

The ship ride back was quiet, the injured ones either unconscious or too weak to say anything, the uninjured ones not in the mood to talk about anything. McCree stayed at the back, keeping an eye on Ashe, just in case she managed to wake up from the sleep dart Ana gave her and free herself from the many restraints put on her.

"You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking of." Tracer said as she sat across from McCree, who was surprised he just understood what she just said.

"Shouldn't you be flying this thing?"

"Torbjorn has it on autopilot. He told me to take things easy so I won't break this thing on my chest any further than I already had."

"So what are you doing here?"

"That's mean Jesse, but don't flatter yourself." Tracer said "I'm not here for you."

"Let me guess, you want to make sure I don't kill her in her sleep?"

"Well after what happened back there, can you blame me?"

McCree scoffed at Tracer, infuriating her since he clearly wasn't taking her seriously. "I told you not to kill her, didn't I? What part of that didn't you understand?"

"You also told me you'd stop me if you have to, and yet you didn't."

"So you prefer I shoot you, then?"

"Why are you so bent out of shape Lena?" McCree asked "She's still alive isn't she?"

"That's by pure luck! Had you not run out of bullets, she wouldn't even be here right now."

McCree got up. "Whatever. You wanted to watch her didn't you? Here you go." He said, walking over to sit elsewhere on the ship, somewhere far from anyone else.

/

The four of them pulled up to the address Naomi sent them and immediately ran into trouble at the front gate. Thankfully the woman herself was there to sort everything out before any of them had gotten shot.

"Guns down, they're the ones I was talking about."

"You better be right about this Naomi." One of the guards said.

"I always am." Naomi said "Everyone back to whatever you're doing. I'll call you when we've got things sorted out."

The crowd went away one by one until it was just Naomi left, who then asked them to follow her. Just from the outside, they could already tell the place was an apartment complex so they expected a private meeting with Naomi, and a few bodyguards of course, but now that they were actually inside, gang members were all they could see. Almost as if…

"Do you have this place all to yourselves?" Ashe asked.

Naomi opened the door to the apartment at the end of the hall of the top floor and motioned for them to enter. "This place abandoned when we found it. We just let ourselves in and no one ever came to kick us out so as long as no one does, this place is ours."

"Ok then." Ashe said "You said your gang wanted to meet us."

"They do, but are you sure you want to go through with this? If you want to back out, I understand."

"What makes you think we'd do that? The four of us had already decided, and if you have to ask us that, maybe you're the one who's having second thoughts."

"Relax Ashe, I just want to make sure." Naomi said "Although I like the attitude. You'd make a good leader someday."

Although she tried to hide it, hearing that from Naomi made Ashe feel good. "So, how are we doing this?"

"What's the rush? Take a look around first, get to know the people since we'll be working together from now on." Naomi said before getting back on the phone "Hey, you have a second? I need you."

Naomi set the phone down, and moments later a woman around Ashe's age entered the room. She tried to greet her but the woman just blew past all of them and headed straight to Diaz, whom she threw her hands around him and gave him a kiss, shocking everyone in the room, although Taylor looked more pissed than surprised.

Taylor thought Diaz would be more pissed than she was, but when the woman pulled away, he was actually smiling. _Smiling._

"Diaz, who is this?" Taylor all but spat at her.

"Oh, this is Rosita Santiago. She's a childhood friend of mine."

"Most people call me Rosie." Rosita said, going in for a handshake that Taylor backed away from.

"You gonna kiss me too?"

Rosita guiltily rubbed the back of her head. "I may have…overstepped, I just haven't seen him in a long time. I'm sorry."

"Its fine, I don't mind." Diaz said, making Taylor speechless, unsure if she should be mad at Diaz, Rosita or both.

"Good, you already know one of them." Naomi said "I just have to get a few more things ready. Santiago, show them around will you?"

"Love to."

They left the room and Rosita gave them a tour, or rather she gave Diaz a tour while McCree, Ashe and Taylor followed them, listening to them talk about what happened in their lives during the time they were separated.

"How'd you meet Naomi?"

"The same way you did." Rosita said "When we were stealing meds for your sister and I got arrested, I was put in the same holding cell as her. Well, technically I was dragged into the cell and I guess Naomi saw my potential. After a couple of months in juvy, she found me and took me in."

"Juvy?"

"Well, yeah. I didn't have you to break me out the way you did with Naomi."

"Rosie I'm sor-"

"Relax." Rosita said with a chuckle "A couple of months is nothing as long as we saved your sister."

"Well thanks to you, she lived long enough to go into rehab."

Behind the two of them, McCree tapped Taylor's shoulder. "Did you know any of this?"

"What?"

"You know, Diaz's sister." McCree said "I figured that you might since you've known each other for a long time too."

Taylor was actually embarrassed to admit how little she knew about Diaz outside of his capabilities as a criminsl or his abilities in the bedroom. "Uh, I knew bits and pieces about it."

"So some lady Diaz hasn't seen in forever suddenly shows up out of nowhere and you're telling me she knows more about him than you do?"

"Well…yeah, but-"

"Wow, you're a terrible friend. How do you not-aaaaaaahh!"

Ashe grabbed McCree by the ear and dragged him away from Taylor just as she looked like she was about to deck him. "Hey Jesse, why don't you leave Taylor alone so we have a talk about sensitivity."

While Ashe was scolding McCree, and with Diaz and Rosita still keeping to themselves, Taylor realized that she now had no one to talk to. Thankfully, they soon arrived to where they needed to be so she only had to wallow in her own self-pity for a tiny bit.

Rosita led the four of them to an empty apartment a floor below Naomi's. She opened the door before handing the keys to Ashe.

"You and Taylor will be here. Settle in while I show the guys where their room is."

"Wait, we're not bunking with them?" Taylor asked.

"Naomi likes to keep the men and women separated, with us on this side and them on the other." Rosita said "She feels like its more organized that way. Plus, it keeps things quiet at night, if you know what I mean."

"We're not children Santiago." Taylor said coldly.

"You're not. Technically, the three of us still are." Diaz said "You gonna be fine bunking with Ashe?"

"Why are you guys so serious about this? We're not forcing you to stay here." Rosita said "Naomi just wants to show you that if our arrangement goes as well as we hope it does, you four are welcome here."

"Rosie's right Taylor." Diaz said "We'll be going back to the estate after this anyway. We'll only stay here in case we need to lay low."

"That estate of yours is nice and all, but it sticks out like a sore thumb. Come on Miguel, let me show you and McCree to your room." Rosita said "If you need anything, just look for me. I'd be happy to help."

Once the three of them left, Ashe and Taylor went into their room, the latter immediately voicing her opinion about Rosita before the door was even closed.

"I don't like her."

"Why not?" Ashe asked "She seems nice."

"Too nice. Who does she think she is, just up and kissing Diaz like that?" Taylor said "The hell are you smiling at?"

"You're jealous."

"What?"

"Admit it Taylor. Diaz hasn't been giving you any hanky panky lately, and then suddenly some chick comes out of nowhere, locks lips with him and he doesn't complain. That'd make anyone jealous."

"No one calls it hanky panky." Taylor said.

"Yes they do."

"That's why you're still a virgin."

"Uncalled for, but that doesn't matter." Ashe said "You can take all your excuses and shove them up your ass. You hate the idea of sharing Diaz with someone else."

Taylor scowled. "I should be. Diaz is mine."

"I thought things between you two were casual."

"I-it is, but that still means that he's only allowed to have sex with me."

"That's not how casual sex works." Ashe said.

"Oh, what do you know? You're nineteen."

"I know that there's supposed to be no strings attached. If you're pissed at the thought of Diaz sleeping with someone that isn't you, well, you might not be as unattached as you think you are."

Taylor sat on one of the beds, ruffling her hands through her blonde hair in frustration. "Am I wrong to be? We've known each other for years by now. Up until a few months ago, when we had met you two, he's all I've had and yet I still feel bad for feeling like this. Is it wrong for me to want him all to myself?"

"Depends," Ashe said "have you told him?"

"Told him what?"

"How you really feel. If you haven't, you're basically telling him you don't want to be with him, but you don't want him to be with anyone else either, which kind of makes you a dick."

"Well, I've always assumed he already knows." Taylor said.

"Taylor, the way you are now, it seems like even you're confused by how you feel. Why do you expect him to know something that even you don't."

"Because he's smart."

"Exactly." Ashe said "Which is why he wouldn't jump to those kind of conclusions. If you want him to know, then it should come from you."

Taylor scowled. "So what do you want me to do? Just up and confess to him out of nowhere? He'd just think I was jealous."

"But you are jealous."

"That's not the point Ashe!"

"You're right, its not." Ashe said "The point is that you're just sitting on your ass, hoping someone else will solve your problems for you. You saw the way those two were, didn't you? Confess before Rosita beats you to it."

/

Pharah groaned as she woke up, the bright white and sterilized smell of the infirmary a nice change from what she remembered moments before she lost consciousness.

"So you're finally awake." Brigitte said as she walked over from her desk to Pharah's bed.

Pharah smiled at her. "Any reason you were waiting for me?"

"It's not the reason that smile is suggesting." Brigitte said with a chuckle. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll tell you one the anesthesia wears off. What exactly happened to me again?"

"You were shot remember? Your armor stopped the bullet but in doing so, it shattered. Take a guess as to where all those fragments went."

"Point taken." Pharah said "Although I'd rather guess who took those fragments out of me."  
Brigitte smiled at her. "I wouldn't be checking on you if it wasn't me."

"That hurts."

"Oh suck it up, you'll live." Brigitte said before taking one look at Pharah and chuckling.

"Wow, thank you for finding this amusing."

"God, look at you. You don't belong in the infirmary."

"Good, I don't want to be here." Pharah said.

"Not what I meant. I was talking about how you look like."

"I don't follow."

"You're built for grunt work." Brigitte said "Useful in a garage or a workshop, but not somewhere as…delicate as the infirmary."

Pharah scoffed. "You're one to talk. If you don't mind me asking, why are you here anyway? Where's my mother?"

"Ana and the other medical staff are helping the ones with far worse injuries than a little shrapnel in the stomach."

"Again, thank you for taking all this lightly."

Brigitte gave Pharah a shit eating grin. "I'm kidding."

"Yeah, sure. What happened to the others?"

"The ones that aren't being treated for their injuries are interrogating the Talon member McCree and Oxton brought back."

"Talon member?"

"Yeah, white hair, gave off the same vibe that McCree does, which makes sense since there seems to be some history between them."

"Is he the one interrogating her?"

"I think so. He never came to the infirmary."

"Shit." Pharah got up in a panic before groaning in pain and falling back down to the bed.

"Hey, calm down. I do not want to stitch you up again." Brigitte said.

"You haven't seen how he's been lately. If there's no one there to hold him back, that woman's dead."

…

Despite the fact that McCree was staring her down, Ashe still found it in her to smirk at him. "C'mon McCree, glaring at me like that, waiting for me to somehow mess up, that has never worked for you, has it?"

"I'm not waiting for anything. I'm just trying to find a reason not to put a bullet in your head."

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Ashe said, waving her cuffed hands. "If you wanted to kill me, you would've done it already. Admit it, you need me alive."

" _They_ need you alive. At this point, I don't care what happens to you so just tell me whatever it is you people have planned next so I can be on my merry way."

"Remember when we were drilling into someone from a rival gang?" Ashe asked "None of them ever talked because they knew that that information was the only thing keeping them alive."

"So is that why you're not saying anything?"

"As much as I want it to be, I'm not telling you anything because I don't know anything."

"Bull. Shit." McCree growled.

Ashe shrugged. "Don't believe me then, I don't care." She said "I don't know how Reyes was when you worked with him, but with me he kept everything on a need to know basis, and since I'm clearly not important enough to know what we have planned, then you're just wasting your time here."

McCree grabbed Ashe by the collar of her shirt and yanked her closer to him. "Don't be so smug Ashe. You telling me you don't know anything just tells me I have no reason to keep you alive anymore, and I doubt you want that, so cut the shit already!"

Ashe glared at McCree. "Again, whenever we caught someone from a rival gang back then, I was always the bad cop, remember? What makes you think this shit will work on me?"

The two of them stared each other down, Ashe's frustration slowly beginning to match McCree's. Before either of them could make another move though, Brigitte burst through the door of the interrogation room.

"McCree, that's enough."

McCree growled. "The hell do you want, kid?"

"You're too close to this McCree. Getting angry won't help anything."

"Go back to the med bay Brigitte, this is none of your damn business."

Ana entered the room as well, grabbing McCree's wrists, forcing him to let go of Ashe. "I'll take over from here McCree, go with Brigitte and have her check you for any injuries."

"I'm fine Ana."

"I wasn't asking McCree." Ana said, her usual calm and patient demeanor no longer present in her voice. "Go with Brigitte. Now."

There was no way McCree was leaving before he got any answers, but Ana had never been this commanding to him that she almost seemed hostile. He had never seen her be truly mad at him, and he didn't want to. Defeated, he turned to leave when Ashe yelled after him.

"That's right McCree, turn your back on me and leave again!" she yelled "Just like you did back then."

"What?" McCree asked through grit teeth.

"Don't listen to her Mc-"

McCree pushed past Ana and slammed his fist on the table Ashe was handcuffed to. "Is that what you think happened?" he asked "I didn't leave you! I got captured in that sting operation, although you would've known that if you hadn't took off. We didn't know if the estate was safe or not since we couldn't get to you so we had nowhere to go when Overwatch hunted us down. Rosita, Naomi, they didn't fucking make it. I wouldn't have made either if Reyes didn't see something in me. If I hadn't joined them, I would be thrown in prison where I'm sure a lot of rival gang members will be waiting for me, so stop saying I left you because I did what I had to to live. If you hadn't left that night, things would have been different, so stop blaming me Ashe! You're the one who left! You're the one who tore our family apart!"

McCree stormed out of the room, Brigitte awkwardly following him. Ana snapped her fingers to grab Ashe's attention as she sat down in front of her. "So," she said "let's start over, shall we?"

…

Half an hour passed, and although Brigitte had checked every inch of him, she still wouldn't release McCree from the med bay.

"Kid, if there was something wrong with me, you would have found it already." McCree said "I'm clearly fine, what the hell am I still doing here?"

"I just want to make sure I didn't miss anything."

"Cut the shit Brigitte." McCree said, the tone of his voice stating that he was in no mood for anymore bullshit. "Why am I still here?"

Brigitte groaned. "Fine, Ana wants me to keep you from interfering with her."

"And you think holding me hostage in the med bay will help you do that?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"But not long enough." McCree said, getting up to leave. "I'm going back there."

Brigitte moved in to stop him. "McCree, don't do this."

"Why? Right now, we should be squeezing any information we could use from that-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, McCree." Brigitte said, now sporting a scowl towards McCree. "You're not helping much with what you were doing anyway. Besides, if she really didn't know anything then it won't take Ana much longer, so just wait here please."

McCree groaned before walking back to the bed he was sitting on. "You better be right."

The two of them returned to waiting in silence. Or at least McCree did, Brigitte decided to nervously glance at McCree then awkwardly look away once he notices.

"Relax kid, I won't run. Stop looking at me like that."

Brigitte shook her head. "That's not why."

"Then what is it? Sitting here doing nothing is bad enough, I don't need you silently judging me. Spit it out."

"That woman, you said you used to be a family."

McCree raised and eyebrow at her before waving her off. "Don't put too much thought into that, kid. I said all that in anger. Any loyalty I had to our gang belongs to Overwatch now."

"But there was a time when you were loyal to your gang. Perhaps even loyal to her?"

McCree was taken aback by Brigitte's question. "What makes you say that?"

"I could see it in the way you two were around each other. How you two got mad at each other. There was definitely some history between you two, and I'm not saying that as in fellow gang members, more like as close friends. Maybe even as lovers, which makes me wonder if you're really able to leave them all behind. I won't be surprised if you still have some feelings left over for her."

That last part struck a chord in McCree, and not in a good way. For some reason, that last part was what affected him the most. The light creaking on the metal joints of his prosthetic made him realize that he was clenching his fists in anger.

"You're pushing it, kid." He warned through grit teeth "I may have agreed to stay here but that doesn't mean you get to pry into things that ain't any of your damn business."

"Maybe, but you're reaction makes me wonder just how close I was to home." Brigitte said, leaning towards McCree so she can study his reaction. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Even as he was cornered, there was no way McCree was taking any of this. "Watch your mouth Brigitte, you don't know me well enough for you to talk like you do." He said, getting up and nudging Brigitte out of the way.

"Where do you think you're going."

"Away from you."

Brigitte grabbed McCree's hand. "You're still not allowed to leave the infirmary."

McCree yanked his hand free. "Then stop me."

"Don't make me do this McCree."

McCree chuckled. "As if you'd pull a gun on me, kid. Let me guess, that's a sleep dart you have pressed against my back right now."

"Doesn't matter what it is as long as it stops you."

"Is that what Ana told you? It actually kind of hurts how much she doesn't trust me anymore."

"With the way you've been lately, I'm surprised you'd expect anything less."

"Fair point." McCree said "So, what are you waiting for? Do it already."

"Do what?"

"The hell do you think? Shoot me already."

"Wait, you want me to?"

"Of course not." McCree said "But if you don't want me walking out of here you have to, don't you?"

Brigitte hesitated for a second and McCree grabbed the sleep dart from her hands. "Then I guess I'm walking out of here."

"I can't leave you alone for a second anymore, can't I?" Ana said as she walked in the infirmary, checking on her daughter, who was somehow comfortably asleep while everything between McCree and Brigitte went down.

"Did you get anything out of her, Ana?"

"Barely more than what you got from her."

"But its still more than what I got." McCree said. "What did she say?"

"She wasn't lying about not knowing anything, that's for sure. Reyes was always so closed off, especially when it came to things like this." Ana said "Ashe did say that one of them was supposed to be caught, and she just drew the short straw."

"Why the hell would they want to get caught for?"

"Distraction, maybe. I just don't know what for, there's nothing of use in the red zone apart from a few omnic weapons, but the risk doesn't make it worth it."

"So what do we do now?"

"For now," Ana said, placing a hand on McCree's shoulder "we should get some rest. Its getting late Jesse, we'll go at it again tomorrow, don't worry."

McCree didn't want to stop. He wanted to keep going until this was finished, but his own fatigue convinced him to listen to Ana. Even if they did find Talon, he wouldn't be useful if he was half asleep during their confrontation. Bidding a goodnight to Ana and a reluctant apology to Brigitte, he made huus way to his quarters, falling asleep the moment he collapsed onto the bed.

His sleep wasn't as long as he hoped it would be though, the events that happened that day made him unable to stay asleep any longer than a few hours. Groaning as he tossed and turned, trying his best to fall back asleep and not think about why Ashe would willingly let them capture her, because that was a rabbit hole he was not letting himself fall into.

As he got up, he stepped on his discarded pants, noticing a bulge in the pocket. Examining its contents, he got an idea he knew was bad, but it was the only way he was getting answers for the rabbit hole that he inevitably fell into anyway. Putting his pants on, he left his room knowing damn well he'd regret what he was about to do.

…

Ashe sat up on her bed, finally giving up on getting any sleep for the night after hours of trying. She can thank McCree for her insomnia, since that bastard knocked her out cold for god knows how long, and now she's not even the least bit sleepy. Groaning in frustration, she lied back down on her bed, which was surprisingly comfortable for a holding cell.

Hell, the room was so nice that if she hadn't been told otherwise, she'd have thought the room she was in was just a spare bunk for the members of Overwatch. There may have been a lot of things she hated about these so called 'good' guys but their hospitality was not one of them. If the tables had turned and she were their captor, McCree and his friends would find themselves thrown in a small dark room or chained to a pole somewhere out in the open for everyone to see.

In her case though, they treated her properly despite what she'd done. A clean set of clothes, food and water, treatment for her injuries, hell they even allowed her to take a quick shower. A fucking shower. Though that short British chick tasked of watching over her may have been watching a little _too_ closely.

She heard a beep and it snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked at the electronic lock on her door, the light on it now green instead of the red she had been looking at for as long as she can remembered. Before she could even make out the figure on the door, she felt something hit her neck and the sleep she had been looking for finally came to her.

When she woke up, she wasn't lying on her bed anymore and was strapped onto a seat of a ship instead. One look at the hat poking up from the captain's seat told her exactly who was flying her right now.

"Hey McCree!" she yelled "What the fuck did you do to me?"

"Relax, it was just a sleep dart." McCree said over his shoulder "In the middle of a fire fight, it should knock you out for just a couple of seconds, but if there was nothing to interrupt you, you could be out for hours. Its completely harmless."

"Harmless my ass. That thing left me defenseless to you."

McCree scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself Ashe, I just needed a way to get you out of there without quietly."

"I'm guessing its not because you're helping me escape?"

"Hell no. I'm taking you with me so I don't get killed the second your friends see me."

"You don't really believe that do you?" Ashe asked "Pretty bold of you to assume Reyes won't hesitate to kill me as well as long as he gets you."

"You know, that did cross my mind." McCree sais "But you're still useful to him because as long as your alive, he has all of deadlock by his side."

Ashe's shoulders slumped. Her bluff didn't work. "You really though this through, huh?"

"Of course I did. I'm trying to avenge Angela here, I'm not half-assing this."

That last part got to Ashe. For some reason, it made her feel bad. "Was she your wife?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"She was supposed to be, but you guys took that away." McCree said "Why the hell do you care anyway? Surprising that you do seeing as how you're the one who got her killed."

"I was only supposed to help catch her, you know." Ashe sheepishly whispered "What they did to her after that was completely out of my control."

"What was the point of you telling me that?" McCree asked "You hoping I'd go easy on you or something? Doesn't matter who did what Ashe, as long as you were involved, you get the same treatment as the others."

Ashe didn't say anything after that remark. McCree was right, why _did_ she say that? It was almost as if she wanted McCree's forgiveness. Hell no, there was no way that was the reason. She wouldn't allow it.

The two of them remained silent until they reached the red zone again. McCree handcuffed Ashe and dragged her behind him as he walked to a vantage point he had seen earlier which gave him a clear view of the entire area.

Using Ashe's viper, McCree scanned the area for any signs of Talon until he was interrupted by a comment from the woman herself.

"You sure you know how to use that?"

"I'm the one who taught you how to shoot the damn thing, remember?"

McCree scoped back in, noticing that there were a lot more omnics gathering at the center of the town. Squinting, he saw the omnics being taken out one by one as they tried to swarm whoever was in the middle. He knew right away that that's where he's going. Slinging the viper over his shoulder, he and Ashe slowly slid down the steep cliff they were just on. Once at the bottom, McCree pulled out his revolvers and they began walking.

"Hey McCree, you mind giving me my rifle back?"

"Like hell I will."

"Look around you McCree." Ashe said "Not only are we in the red zone, we're in the open too. Do you think you can take on every omnic that comes our way by yourself?"

"Say what you will Ashe, you're still not getting a gun." McCree said "Besides, I'm sure every omnic here is focused on your friends. The hell are they doing anyway?"

"Like I said, I don't-"

"Yeah, yeah, you don't know." McCree said, irritated "Why did I even bother."

…

"Any day now, Sombra!" Reaper yelled, discarding his used shotguns and pulling out two new ones.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Sombra yelled back as she fiddled with the wiring of her EMP.

"Go faster! We can't keep this up much longer."

Yelling a string of profanities in Spanish, Sombra attached her EMP onto a radio tower. After giving a quick warning the others, she activated it, the purple wave that followed deactivating all the omnics surrounding them, as well as every other omnic in the red zone. They found themselves standing in silence before each omnic fell to the ground one by one.

"Did we do it?" Doomfist asked.

Roadhog kicked one of the omnics on the ground. "I don't think so. These piles of scrap look useless now."

"Be patient fat ass, these things take time." Sombra said "Look around, kill any stragglers that weren't caught by the blast."

As they were doing so, Junkrat and Widow came back from their vantage point with Ashe by their side and McCree being dragged behind them.

"Oi!" Junkrat yelled "Look what we've brought back."

LWidow yanked McCree in front of Reaper and they all surrounded him. "He stepped on a venom mine."

"How unfortunate." Reaper grabbed McCree by the chin and forced him to face him. "You caught onto us pretty quickly kid, I'm impressed. Now where's the rest of you?"

"At the base. I came here alone."

Reaper let out a gravely laugh. "You expect me to believe that?"

"If I wasn't alone, I wouldn't have gotten caught."

"Maybe." Reaper said "Or maybe you're trying to pull the same trick on us. Let us catch you while everyone else is getting ready to take us out."

"He's not lying, Reyes." Ashe chimed in.

Reaper let go of McCree and turned to face Ashe. "Is that so? Don't tell me they turned you against us just like that."

"The hell are you going on about? Let's not forget the reason I joined your sorry ass group was because I wanted to get back at McCree. Do you really think I'd be helping him."

Reaper thought about it for a second before finally giving in. "Fine, I'll bite. If you're so sure, you wouldn't mind taking a look around, would you?"

Ashe shrugged. "You'd be wasting our time, but sure."

"Akande, go with Ashe. You see anyone you don't recognize, kill her." Reaper said "We don't have room for traitors."

"You realize you're the biggest traitor here, right?"

Reaper waved her off. "Yeah, yeah whatever. Get going already." He said, watching the two of them walk off before turning back to McCree. "I still can't imagine you doing it with her all those years ago."

McCree struggled against his restraints. "Fuck you."

"Relax kid, I'm kidding. Learn to live a little." He said, before giving McCree a smug grin. "Oh wait, you won't be doing much of that anymore."

McCree grit his teeth in anger, which only amused Reaper even more. "Anything you want to know before I kill you? I'll let you die with all the answers you want."

"Cocky much, Reyes?" Moira asked, her arms crossed in disapproval as she watched Reaper toy with McCree.

"I'm just giving the kid some peace of mind, Moira." Reaper shrugged "I'm sure you want to know what we're doing here, don't you?" he asked McCree "You heard that EMP blast, didn't you? That just fried hopefully every omnic here. They are now completely harmless, at least until Sombra finishes up with them. Once she does, they will now be following whoever reprogramed them. Take a guess who this army belongs to now."

McCree continued to struggle against his restraints, eventually giving up once he realized he wasn't getting out of this one. At least he'll get to see Angela again. Angela…

In Reaper's amusement, he barely heard what McCree grumbled. "What was that?"

"Why did you steal Angela's body?" McCree asked "What more can you take from her?!"

"As much as I love the idea of adding insult to injury to Ziegler's death, that wasn't me kid."

"There was black smoke. It killed both the driver and the passenger before taking off with the body." McCree said "Who else could that have been?"

Reaper shrugged before raising his shotgun, pointing it at McCree's forehead. "No idea. Don't dwell too much on it, kid. You wouldn't want your last thoughts to go unanswered, do you?"

Before Reaper could finish him off, Sombra tapped him on the shoulder. "What do you want?"

"You're not the one doing that by any chance, are you?" Sombra asked, pointing to the black smoke surrounding the EMP on the radio tower.

Once the smoke completely engulfed it, it blew, a black shockwave spreading all throughout the red zone. The sound of thousands of omnics getting back up crept up on them, and before they knew it, they were surrounded.

The black smoke continued to gather in front of them, and once they were staring at a huge black cloud, something started to materialize in front of them the same way Reaper does. What they saw once it was complete shook them to their core, McCree the most out of all of them as he stared at what was in front of him.

Her angelic glow was now gone, in its place a blood-red aura, her once blue eyes taking the same color as well. Her once beautiful smile had also disappeared, what's all that's left was something sinister.

"A-angela?" McCree nervously asked.

The new demonic Mercy smiled at him. "Hello Jesse." She said "Did you miss me?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Yeah, I took a long break from this one didn't I? Well ubi servers are shit right now so I've been playing a lot of overwatch instead and decided to continue this story. Thankfully Blizzard doesn't update that much so I don't have to change much of this story to fit in with the lore.**

 **Oh and stay inside ffs.**

 **-‐-‐-**

Everyone stared at the Mercy that suddenly appeared in front of them, all of them dumbfounded, albeit all of then having different reasons. McCree hadn't expected to see her ever again, much less not in that state. Junkrat at Roadhog have no idea who she was so they didn't really know what they should be doing right now. As for Reaper though…

"You're supposed to be dead."

"Should I be though?" Mercy teased. "Then why am I here?"

While everyone was distracted, McCree was able to break free for a second and run towards her before being yanked back to the ground with Roadhog's chain.

"Oh my Jesse, what have they done to you?" Mercy said, kneeling down beside him. Her hand went to caress his face, and McCree instinctively backed away from her.

Tried as he might, he just couldn't see Mercy in the demonic being in front of him. Hell, he couldn't even look her in her blood red eyes.

"What happened to you Angela?" he asked. "How are you here? I saw you die. You killed yourself in front of me."

"Yeah, I have a lot to expla-"

As if this wasn't hard enough to digest, McCree had to watch Mercy die in front of him again when Reaper blew her head off.

"I'll just have to kill you again."

Mercy's corpse fell onto McCree's body, covering him in blood that was just as black as the smoke that surrounded her. She began to shake as it engulfed her completely. Her blood pooled around to where her head was, slowly forming her back together. In a matter of seconds, she was back to how she was before Reaper shot her.

"The fuck?" Reaper raised his shotgun for a follow up shot only to have another cloud of smoke take it from him before he could get a shot off. The same happened for when he raised his other one.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you Reyes?" Mercy asked as she approached him, more and more black smoke coming off her as she did. "Its rude to interrupt people."

The smoke shot out from her arm and sent Reaper flying backwards into a pile of deactivated omnics. Everyone stood there in shock, their reflexes only coming back when Reaper yelled.

"Kill her!"

They all then sprung into action, throwing everything they had at Mercy, who absorbed it all like a sponge. She cracked her neck and stared them all down, her expression unlike anything McCree ever saw in the old Mercy. She wasn't just ready to take them all on her own, she was excited.

Bob dropped out of seemingly nowhere and charged Mercy, with Roadhog doing the same from the opposite direction. Mercy hit her staff against the ground before using it to smack Roadhog's hook out of her face and towards Bob. She then kicked his legs out from under him and sidestepped Bob, sending both of them into the ground.

Sombra tackled Mercy to the ground, landing a few good hits before she overpowered her and switched their positions so now Sombra took a beating. "Stick to hacking, bitch."

Moira grabbed Mercy from behind in a chokehold while Ashe and Junkrat peppered her with bullets and explosives. When their guns ran dry, Ashe threw dynamite and Junkrat let his rip-tire loose, and Moira apparated as they both went off. Mercy didn't stay down for long, managing to shrug all of that off in a cloud of black smoke.

"Motherfuckers!" she sent out more smoke that somehow managed to struggle all three of them. "Now I'm pissed."

She saw a fourth trail of smoke that she didn't recognize and it materialized in front of her before she could realize that it didn't belong to her. Reaper head-butted her and kicked her backwards, breaking her concentration and letting the others go. He emptied both shotguns into her, taking away huge chunks from her body before shooting out the legs of the antenna tower and letting it crush her body before it could regenerate.

"Stay down."

"Funny." Mercy said, dissipating from under the rubble and reappearing in front of him. "I was just about to tell you guys the same thing."

A shockwave came out from her, passing all of them by without much happening. This gave them the opportunity to surround her.

"Was something supposed to happen to us?"

Mercy shook her head, her face all kinds of smug. "Not to you. To them."

As if on cue, all the omnics stood up and surrounded them. "You know what to do." Mercy said to the omnics before making her way back to McCree's side.

"That should keep them busy." She said, making quick work of his restraints.

Once he was free of them, instead of crawling into her arms like Mercy thought he would, he shied away from her. "What the hell was that?"

"Jesse, I can explain." Mercy said, raising a hand to calm him down and accidentally let out smoke when she did, scaring him even more than she already did.

McCree stared at her, unsure of what to do. He had wished countless times to see her again, but the way she was now, he wasn't even sure if that was Mercy he was looking at.

"I know what you're thinking Jesse." Mercy said. "I'm not Angela anymore, right? Look, I'm going to be honest with you, you're right. I'm not Angela, at least not the one you knew. She died that night."

"Then…then who are you?"

"I don't know that myself. All I know is that I have her memories and her body, but that's it. That's all we share."

That would explain why Mercy knew to fight Talon, and why she knew not to kill him. But if what she says was true, then there was something she needed to figure out.

"So what will you be doing now?"

"I won't be taking her place in her old life, that's for sure."

"Angela, the others will still accept you."

"That's not the problem." Mercy said. "I don't want to take her place."

"Wait, what?" McCree asked.

"I don't want to live that kind of life." Mercy said, looking at the battle between Talon and the omnics. "What those bastards did to me, it opened my eyes."

"What are you talking about Angela? They got you killed."

"They got the old Angela killed. The good doctor you and everyone else knew was the one who died." Mercy said, her tone falling into the deep end more and more as time passed. "All that's left is me, and I will kill every last one if them for it."

"That's what Overwatch wants too. Let's just go back to base and-"

"You're misunderstanding me Jesse." Mercy said. "I want them dead so there is no more competition."

McCree didn't like where this was going at all. "You better not be saying what I think you're saying."

"I have a feeling that I am, Jesse. Think about it, with Talon gone, there will be no one to stop me."

"Stop you from what? What is it do you plan to achieve?"

"I want to create a perfect world. A world that I see fit." Mercy said. "With an army like this, I can start a new omnic crisis, then build up from what's left."

This was definitely not Mercy anymore. "Still playing god?" McCree asked. "Some things don't change, do they?"

"I know what that tone suggests Jesse, but I'll still offer it." Mercy said. "Angela cared for a lot of people, and you were one of the ones she cared about the most. You were the last thing to cross her mind when she died, so that makes you very special to her, and in extension, to me as well."

"I have a feeling I know what you're going to say next."

Mercy turned to face him. "Join me, Jesse. We'll be unstoppable."

"If you really had Angela's memories, then you'd know that there is no way I'd agree to that."

Mercy sighed. "I was hoping you would. I really didn't want to have to kill you."

Black smoke shot out from Mercy's arm again, grabbing McCree by the neck and lifting him up to choke him. Despite knowing it was futile, McCree grabbed his revolver and shot Mercy in the chest, surprisingly making her stumble backwards. She was speechless as the hole in her chest made her drop McCree, who was just as surprised with how much his plan actually worked.

Mercy doubled over as her body worked to push the bullet out from inside her. McCree watched her do so, and after a moment's hesitation, he shot her again, and kept shooting until she was down on the ground. As her body worked to push all of the bullets out, McCree was given the chance to run. Perhaps it was his only chance to run, and he used it to save the members of Talon, who were slowly being overrun.

"Come on, this way!" he yelled as he cleared them a path.

With pretty much no options left, they followed him, hauling ass through the city and back to the outskirts where McCree had stored the jump ship.

"You helped us." Ashe said. "Why?"

"You had the keys to the ship." McCree said. "Now of you don't mind, we don't exactly have time on our side."

"Lets just take the ship and leave him here." Sombra suggested.

"We can't." Reaper said, tossing McCree the keys.

They all entered and McCree flew them out of there just as the omnics caught up. The omnics shot at the ship, but it was so high up that it didn't matter anymore. Mercy watched them fly away from the ground and she grit her teeth in anger.

"I gave you a chance Jesse." She said. "Don't blame me for what I do next."

The inside of the jump ship was awkwardly quiet since the people there had never gone this long without trying to kill each other. It was especially awkward for Talon, since they didn't know whether they should thank McCree or threaten him. Ashe decided to do neither and instead ask him a question.

"How did you beat her?"

"You mean Angela?" McCree said, unsure of why he was answering. "From what I can tell, she heals slower when whatever we shoot her with stays inside her because she has to work on pushing it out. For some reason, I was packing hollow points and it managed to slow her down long enough."

Reaper cleared his throat. "Thanks for the save kid. Just drop us off somewhere and we'll be on our way."

McCree scoffed. "You're not getting off that easily." He said. "We're headed straight to Overwatch."

"Like hell we are." Moira said. "We're not going anywhere with you."

"You don't have a choice."

McCree literally felt Roadhog approach him from behind. "I say we just kill him now."

"You won't kill me." McCree said. "You can't."

"What makes you so sure?"

"He's right." Reaper spoke up. "Back then I had Athena program into every ship a prisoner-transport protocol. It activates automatically whenever an agent enters a ship with someone not registered into the Overwatch database. It keeps track of everything in the ship. If the agent dies, the ship shuts down and won't turn back on no matter what. Its also doesn't let the ship start if there is no one present on the ship that is registered, which is why we can't leave without him since I doubt that Moira and I would still be authorized."

"You also forgot to mention that the ship would be in lockdown until I decide to unlock it." McCree said. "So as much as I would like to see you die if you tried to jump out, that isn't an option for you either."

Reaper was understandably the most pissed at this turn of events out of all of them, and he didn't hesitate to express it. "Smug bastard."

Hearing this only made McCree even more smug. "Sit tight everyone and enjoy the view." He said. "It's the last time you'll ever see it."

/

Taylor stormed to her and Ashe's room, with the latter in tow behind her. She slammed the door behind her, which Ashe thankfully caught and closed properly, avoiding any potential complaints from their neighbors.

"What the hell was that Taylor?" Ashe demanded.

"Me being right." Taylor said. "I told you Ashe. I told you that bitch was trying to steal Diaz from me."

"You're overreacting Taylor." Ashe said, though if she were being honest, Rosita and Diaz did seem a bit too friendly at the dinner table. Flirtatious, even. Still, she wasn't telling Taylor that. She was riled up enough as it was.

"Am I?" Taylor asked. "Those two were flirting as if they were the only ones in the room. They might as well have been cuddling there too, with how close they were sitting."

"They're close friends, what do you expect?"

"Would you do that with McCree."

Low blow Taylor. "Ok, that's not fair."

"Why not?" Taylor asked. "You two are close right? If you can't do that with him, then it is definitely not normal for them."

"Taylor!" Ashe finally lost it. "Do you hear yourself right now? You are obsessing over your supposed lover and his friend, who I might add, has been nothing but nice to us."

"You didn't see what I saw Ashe. She saw me looking at them. We locked eyes for a second and she started speaking to him in Spanish. Why would she do that?"

Ashe shrugged. "Because speaking in their native tongue was easier?"

"Because no one else could understand them. That way they could talk about what ever they wanted, and I know exactly what it is."

"Trust me Taylor, its not what you thought it was."

Taylor scoffed. "And you're fluent in Spanish all of a sudden?"

"My parents made me take a lot of classes."

Taylor grabbed Ashe by her shoulders and shook her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I know this would happen." Ashe said, swatting Taylor's hands away. "You'd have me follow you follow them around so you can have a pocket translator. I have better things to do."

"Just tell me what they said a while ago."

Now that Ashe thought about it, it did sound kind of bad, but mostly because she didn't have context since she had to go and follow Taylor after she stormed off. "W-well it doesn't translate properly."

"Then just give me the main message." Taylor said, noticing the hesitation in Ashe's expression. "If you don't, I'll make up my own and it will only make things worse."

"She said something about them doing it just like the old days in Diaz's room later." Ashe said, awaiting the inevitable explosion coming afterwards.

"That thieving little-"

Ashe grabbed Taylor before she could burst out the room and ruin any potential relationship they could have with these guys. "What the hell are you going to do, Taylor?"

"What do you think? I'm getting Diaz back from that harlot."

"What makes you think he'll even take you back?"

"You are on thin ice here Ashe." Taylor warned.

"You literally called him just a piece of dick, left him in the middle of the night and now you're planning to hurt one of his closest friends. What makes you think he'll accept you?"

Taylor seemed to calm down after hearing that. "Alright, fine. What should I do then?"

Ashe sighed. Taylor finally seemed reasonable again. "You can try by telling him how you really feel already."

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. And then he'll forgive me, Rosita will be out of the picture and we can be together again."

"I wouldn't get ahead of myself there but-"

"And then we'll fuck, and I'll make her watch."

Nevermind. Taylor will never be reasonable. Ever. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Ashe walked out of their room and back to dinner, leaving Taylor unsure of what she said wrong. Somehow. "What? Too much?"

Ashe returned to the table to find McCree and Naomi slipping into friendly conversation, and Diaz and Rosita nowhere to be found.

"Where's Diaz and Rosie?" Ashe asked as she sat down.

"They left a bit after you and Taylor did. I don't know where they went though."

Ashe sighed. She knew there was no way she'd get to eat at this rate, and Taylor's arrival only confirmed it.

"Where's Diaz and Rosita?"

"They just left."

Taylor nodded a thanks before looking back at Ashe. "Come with me please."

Ashe sighed as she put her utensils back down. She didn't really want to be involved in whatever this was, but she also had to show these people that she had her people under control. Or at least make it look like she does because it seems like Taylor will stop at nothing nor for no one to achieve her goal.

"Taylor, slow down." Ashe said, breaking into a jog to catch up. "Let's be calm about this."

"What makes you think I'm not calm?"

"You look like you're planning to kill someone."

"And you know exactly who that person is."

Ashe managed to stop Taylor just as they reached Rosita's room. "You literally just said you were calm."

"I am."

"For fuck's sake." Ashe said. "Let me go in first, I don't want you getting the wrong idea and blowing things out of proportion."

"What makes you think I would do something like that?"

Ashe was blown away by the woman in front of her. "Please tell me you're joking right now. Its one thing to drag me into this, but bullshitting me is-"

"Oh hey." Diaz suddenly emerged from the room. "What are you two doing here?"

"Heeeeeey Diaz, what, uh, what are you doing here."

"That's what I just asked you." Diaz said, confused. "Actually, now that you're here, are you ok? You haven't been yourself lately."

Of course he'd notice. To Ashe's surprise though, Taylor didn't deny it. "Yeah, I kinda have some things on my mind."

"Do you need to talk about it?"

"Yes, actually. Are you free now?" Oh, that's why.

Diaz guiltily looked away. "Oh, I didn't think you'd take up the offer immediately." He said. "Rosie and I were kind of in the middle of something right now, but I will be with you as soon as we're done."

"Hey Miguel what are you-, oh hey guys." Rosita appeared from behind Diaz. "Do you need something."

"We were just leaving." Ashe answered before Taylor could.

"Um, ok then." Rosita said before playfully pulling Diaz back inside the room. "Come on, I just finished oiling it up."

Taylor heard that last part and turned around before Ashe could stop her. She barged through the door of Rosita's room.

"I knew it!" she yelled. "You have been trying to-"

Taylor walked into Diaz and Rosita sitting opposite each other as they prepared what looked like a makeshift toy consisting of a can with various shapes cut in its sides placed on top of a candle.

"-what is that?"

"What the hell is with you today Taylor?" Diaz asked, just as Ashe entered the room.

"We are so sorry, we'll just be going."

"No you're not." Rosita said, looking nothing like the nice girl that they met earlier. "Not until she explains what the hell is going on with her."

That was only fair. When it looked like Taylor was frozen in place, Ashe nudged her to remind her that words existed.

"I may or may not have been jealous of you." Taylor said, sheepish all of a sudden.

"What?" Diaz and Rosita asked in unison.

"Oh don't make me repeat it." Taylor said. "Diaz and I are on a break, sort of, and I thought you'd steal him from me. And you can't exactly blame me for it since you've been flirting with him non-stop, not to mention the fact that you kissed him the moment we arrived."

"You don't like me very much, do you?" Rosita asked.

"You're supposed to be apologizing Taylor." Ashe reminded.

"Don't bother. I won't make a difference anyway." Diaz cut in.

"What do you mean?"

"After all we've been through you still don't trust me? I get you being jealous of Rosie, but do you really think I'd leave you just like that?"

"I trust you Diaz." Taylor said. "Its her I don't trust."

"If you really do trust me then she wouldn't be a problem." Diaz said. "I'm not going anywhere Taylor."

"That's not what I'm scared of Diaz. I'm not scared of losing what we have, I'm scared of it never being more."

"There is a lot more drama between them than I thought there would be." Rosita whispered to Ashe as they watched.

"I know right?"

"What are you talking about?" Diaz asked. "You're the one who's scared of adding a label to what we are and suddenly you're worried about it?"

"Because I didn't know what we are! I knew what I wanted us to be, but I wasn't sure if that's what you wanted."

"How were you supposed to know? You were scared to tell me anything." Diaz said. "I can't fix this shit between us if you don't open up!"

"Should we be here for this?" Ashe whispered to Rosita.

"I think we'll still hear them even if we left."

"If you would just talk to me, you'd know that there is no chance of me leaving you."

"Are you talking to me as a partner or as a lover?"

"Both, you dumbass." Diaz said. "I love you."

Rosita and Ashe just stared at the two, who seemed to have been frozen by Diaz's words. "Ok, I was not expecting that."

"I was expecting it to come from Taylor." Ashe said.

Meanwhile, Taylor approached Diaz and surprised everyone in the room by slapping him. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't what everyone thought she'd do.

"You don't get to say that before I do."

"Well you were taking so damn long."

Taylor wrapped Diaz in a tight hug. "Please tell me I've earned you back. Its been so lonely."

"Don't you have something to say first?"

"I'm sorry."

Diaz shook his head. "I've heard that a million times already. I'm waiting for something else."

Taylor grit her teeth. "I…love you…too."

"God that looked excruciating." Diaz said before giving Taylor a kiss. "But its way more than you could handle so I'll take it."

The two of them got so absorbed into each other that they forgot that Ashe and Rosita were still in the room with them. The two left on their own just as the clothes began coming off.

"That wasn't what I had in mind for my night." Ashe said.

"Hey, we helped them get back together so its fine." Rosita responded, ignoring the fact that she was kind of the problem to begin with. "I can't believe she thought I'd steal Miguel though. I was planning on going for Jesse."

Ashe looked at Rosita with a hint of Taylor in her gaze. "You what?"

Rosita chuckled. "I'm kidding. I know he's yours."

"Yeah well-, wait no."

"I'm going to bed Ashe. Nice to have you guys with us." Rosita said. "Oh hey Jesse."

After greeting Rosita back, McCree approached Ashe. "Hey, what was that about?"

"Long story." Ashe sighed. "Taylor dealt with her relationship problems like how someone half her age would and I had to cleanup duty. You don't want to go in there."

"Oh. I was about to go to bed though."

"I have a vacant bed in my room." Ashe offered. "You won't be getting any sleep if you were in there anyway."

"I'll take it."

Ashe pretty much dragged herself back to her room with how tired she was. Not to mention hungry, since she never really had dinner. She burst through the door and collapsed onto her bed.

"So what have you been up to today, Jesse?" she asked. "You and Naomi seemed to hut it off."

"Jealous?" McCree teased.

"I will kick you out of here Jesse."

"Then you won't get what I got for you."

Ashe sat up. "Which is?"

McCree cleared the nightstand and put it in front of Ashe's bed before placing a tupperware on top of it. Ashe opened it and saw exactly what she was thinking about. Food.

"You barely touched your dinner so I figured you'd be hungry."

"Jesse you are a lifesaver." Ashe said. "Thank you so much."

"You wouldn't be so hungry of you didn't run off like that, Ellie."

"Ellie?"

"Short for Elizabeth." McCree said. "'Liza kind of lost its ring to it."

"I never gave you permission to call me by either of those names."

"Oh come on, we're close enough for nicknames, aren't we?" McCree asked.

"Don't pull that card on me Jesse." Ashe said. "You can call me nicknames, but at least give me proper ones."

"So you choose."

"That's not how nicknames work Jesse." Ashe said.

"Do you want me to come up with one? Because I have some ideas."

That doesn't sound promising. "Just stick to 'Liza. That was fine."

"As you wish, Lizzy."

"Oh fuck off."

"Those two are cute." McCree said, seemingly having endless things to talk about. "Diaz and Taylor, I mean."

"You haven't seen their relationship through my eyes Jesse."

"We all live in the same house 'Liza, yes I have." McCree countered. "Despite Taylor being a huge tsundere, plus how scared she is of opening up, and Diaz acting like he's not bothered by it, at the end of the day, those two still love each other."

"More like stockholm syndrome, in Diaz's case."

That got a laugh out of McCree. "After you go through all that to help her, you stab her in the back." He said. "She's already being stabbed by Diaz, you didn't have to add to it."

Ashe laughed as well, ignoring how she just enjoyed a joke that would have been frowned upon by the people her family usually associates with. "You just had to one up me, didn't you?"

"I guess you can say I compliment you."

"You're more of an insult to be honest."

Ashe's phone rang, its vibration against the wooden nightstand cutting in between their conversation. She looked at the caller id to see it was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Miss Elizabeth?" Ashe recognized the voice to be her parents' personal assistant. "I'm headed to the estate right now, I'll be there in about ten minutes."

Ashe looked at McCree in a slight panic. "Uh, I'm out with friends right now."

"Please head back, there is something you need to know and it would be best if I told you in person."

"Uh, sure." Ashe said, unsure of what to expect. "I'm already leaving."

The assistant hung up, prompting Ashe to get up and gather her stuff. "Jesse, do you mind coming with me? I'd feel better if I wasn't alone." She said, feeling guilty with no particular reason why.

"Yeah, of course." McCree said, putting his hat back on as they both left the room.

/

McCree sighed as he saw Ana already scolding him before he even got off the ship. He knew full well that this was to be expected when he left without their approval, but it didn't make him any more prepared to face it.

"Look Ana, before you get mad-"

"Its too late for that Jesse."

"Then at least check out what I brought back with me." McCree said. "You might want to be armed when you do though."

Ana looked past McCree to see the members of Talon all grumpy inside the jump ship. "Well I'll be damned."

"I have more news." McCree said. "Let's get them into holding cells first then I'll tell you and the others everything."

"No. Go to the medbay and get yourself checked out, I'll handle this. Meet in the briefing room after, I'll tell the others to head there too."

With the help from several nearby soldiers, Ana collected all of Talon's weapons and escorted them to the lower levels of Gibraltar, where several holding cells awaited them.

"I can't believe that kid managed to catch all of you." She taunted Reaper.

"That kid didn't do shit."

"Sure, sure." Ana said, waving them off as she went for the medbay. When she arrived, Soldier, Torbjorn, Reinhardt and Winston sat around McCree, who was the first to notice her.

"Hey, Ana's here." He said. "Ok, where to begin. Athena, play the video of Angela's transport again for me please."

They all sat and watched the video, up until the smoke killed the agents. "There, pause it right there." McCree said. "I asked Reyes what they needed Angela's body for, and he said it wasn't him. I didn't believe it at first, but then I saw it with my own two eyes."

"Saw what?"

"Angela." McCree said. "Whatever Talon did to her, it not only brought her back, it turned into the same thing Reyes was, but way more powerful. I saw her take on Talon by herself and she won."

"Where is she now? Did she come back with you?"

McCree shook his head. "No. She looked like Angela, but she was definitely not her. She said she wanted to start a new omnic crisis so she can rebuild the world , or whatever. She's planning to take out anyone who has the means to try and stop her, meaning Talon, Overwatch and anyone else that gets in her way."

"I don't know, it seems a bit far fetched." Soldier said.

"I have no reason to lie to you." McCree said. "And even if I did, I wouldn't drag Angela's name through the mud just to do it."

"How did you get away then? If she was so powerful?" Torbjorn asked.

"That's actually because of you." McCree answered. "I asked for jacketed rounds, remember? Why was I packing hollow points."

"Ana told me to do it. She said that with how you were recently, she wanted to reduce your threat as much as possible." Torbjorn said. "And you should have noticed it anyway so don't be mad at me."

"Whatever, it saved my life." McCree said. "Just like Reyes, Angela can regenerate, except at a faster rate. I saw her shrug off entire magazines. Every hole we put in her just fills itself back up."

"Hollow points don't go through, though."

"Exactly. If whatever we hit her with stays in her, she has to work on getting it out of her body before it heals. That slowed her down enough that I got away."

None of the other spoke, most likely still trying to wrap their heads around what McCree just told them.

"Do you know where she is now?"

McCree shook his head. "My guess is as good as yours."

"Great." Soldier said. "At least we know one thing. If it ever comes down to it, we know how to take her out."

/

"Miss Elizabeth." The assistant greeted as Ashe walked through the front door, thankfully not pointing out who the ruffian next to her was.

"Are my parents here? You rarely act without their orders."

"That's kind of the reason why I'm here." The assistant said. "You should sit down for this."

"I already know its bad news alright, just give it to me straight."

The assistant was surprised by this, but regained her composure as quickly as she lost it.

"Your parents didn't make it."


	12. Chapter 12

Ashe, McCree and the assistant all stood there in awkward silence, not knowing who should speak first, or even what to say at all. If anyone was put on the spot to say something, it would have been Ashe, since the news affected her the most, but she seemed like she had no intention of speaking. Hell, she didn't even look fazed by it.

"'Liza? Are you ok?"

Ashe turned to McCree, her expression way too relaxed that it was scary. "They were in an accident Jesse. These things happen. I don't know what you're expecting me to feel here."

"But you're not even shocked. How are you-"

"You'd be the same if you were in my position Jesse." Ashe said before turning to the assistant. "The helicopter outside is still running fir a reason right? This isn't your final stop."

The assistant shook her head.

"I doubt this was even supposed to be a stop. My parents gave you a list didn't they?" Ashe asked. "Of people to notify in the case of their death? You know, the important people in their life."

"Y-yes."

Ashe looked McCree dead in the eye as she kept talking to the assistant. "I'm not on that list, am I?" she asked, and got no response. "Her silence is your answer Jesse. They never gave me the time of day. I have nothing to mourn."

"Miss Elizabeth-"

"You're a good person." Ashe told the assistant. "But there is nothing more for you to do here. You have somewhere to be don't you? I suggest you go and tell the people that my parents actually wanted you to tell."

The assistant, unsure of what to say just nodded and left, leaving just McCree and Ashe, the latter not wanting to be there anymore.

"'Liza-"

"Don't, Jesse. Just don't." Ashe warned. "You're not changing my mind. I'm going to bed."

With that, she left as well, leaving McCree all by his lonesome, surrounded by the numerous paintings and pictures of Ashe's parents that he never noticed until now, especially the huge one overlooking the dining table. He found himself taking his hat off in respect for some reason.

"Um, rest in peace I guess."

…

The next morning, McCree was woken up by one of the staff about a security threat since he was still head of security, nevermind the fact that he was the youngest person on the entire estate. He looked outside the window to see what this threat was, and he just sighed upon finding out.

"That's no threat." He told the staff member. "Let them in."

"What the hell man, why'd you just take off like that?" Diaz asked him as soon as they saw each other from across the room.

"'Liza's parents died last night. Their assistant called her over here."

Diaz blinked, suddenly guilty about his tone a while ago that was just a tad too aggressive. "Oh shit. I'm sorry."

"How did she take the news?" Taylor asked.

"That's the thing, it didn't faze her at all." McCree said. "Like I know her relationship with her parents wasn't that great, but its almost as if she doesn't care."

"Maybe she just can't deal with things like this properly. Maybe she just doesn't know how to grieve."

McCree nodded. "Yeah, maybe. Let's just give her some space for now and let her work through this by herself."

"Yeah, about that."

"Oh no." McCree sighed. "What is it?"

"Naomi had something planned for today." Taylor said. "She was supposed to tell us in the morning but, you know."

"Do we tell her we can't make it?"

"No."

The three of them looked behind them to see Ashe come into view, seemingly having heard everything. But that wasn't what worried McCree. What worried him was the fact that she acted like nothing happened last night.

"We go with them. Tell us the details on the way."

"Ashe, are you sure you want to-"

"It wouldn't leave a good impression on them if we skip out on our first job together."

McCree turned to Taylor and Diaz, both of whom were now as anxious as he was. "You think she should be going on a job this early?"

"Who'll stop her even if she isn't?"

McCree shook his head as he watched Ashe tell the staff to get the car ready. "This isn't healthy. She can't just avoid dealing with this."

"Have you thought that maybe she's not grieving because she legitimately doesn't…you know…care?" Diaz suggested.

"Who doesn't grieve their own parents?"

"Not everyone had the same parents you did, McCree." Taylor said. "The only relationship Ashe had with her parents was basically their blood. Its not that easy to grieve strangers."

Ashe yelled at them from across the room, the irritation in her voice making them question if Ashe was able to hear them from that distance.

"If you take any longer, I'm going by myself."

"You heard her." Taylor said. "Let's go."

/

McCree blew a ring of smoke as he waited, taking in the early morning sun. After the recent events the other day, he now had nothing else to do. It also didn't help that capturing Talon didn't make him feel nearly as fulfilling as he thought it would. Or maybe it did, but it was just overshadowed by the fact that Mercy was still alive, but technically she was also dead. And was also evil now.

When did his life get so weird?

"Hey there cowboy. You called for me?"

"Hey Echo." McCree greeted as he scooted aside, giving Echo room to sit. Or at least her equivalent of it.

"So, how may I be of service?"

"I just wanted to talk."

"We can talk whenever we want to Jesse." Echo said. "If you had to call me out here just to do that, then it goes beyond something that simple."

McCree scoffed. "Is that Echo talking or Mina?"

"I'm not sure. That woman gave my everything, including my personality, so it would make sense that we'd have some similarities."

"You mean you stole her personality."

"Technically she gave it to me, among other things." Echo said. "She gave me the ability to feel emotions, to care, to love."

"You know, its funny that you mention that, since that was what I was supposed to talk to you about."

"Hmm?"

"How did it feel, when you got turned on for the first time?"

Echo gave McCree a surprised look, and he waved his hands in defense. "My bad, wrong choice of words. How did it feel when you got activated?" McCree asked. "How was your consciousness and all that? Did you already know everything you know immediately or did you have to learn it over tine?"

"I take it this is about Angela." Echo said.

"So you heard about her too?"

"Her being alive isn't exactly news that would fly under the radar."

McCree sighed. "I don't even know if I should call her Angela anymore." He said. "I mean, she looks and sounds like her and they have the same memories but they are two completely different people."

"Is that why you're asking me about my consciousness?"

"Yeah. If you think about it, that new Angela, she just appeared after our Angela's death. How do you think it feels for her? Suddenly being given the memories and body of someone she isn't and forced to take its place?"

Echo smiled at McCree. "Even now, you still care about her."

McCree felt himself blush and looked away. "I-I don't. Its just some of the things I think about when I can't sleep."

"Because you care about her. Just like you did back then."

"How would you know, you were barely awake back then."

Echo shrugged. "I wasn't awake but my adaptive circuits were. Mina wanted it on all the time so I can pick up on everything and learn from it. It was also not my point."

Echo stood up and offered McCree her hand. "If you asked me about my experiences just because the new Angela is in a similar situation, then you still clearly care about her. I know it seems awkward for you since she's kind of evil now, but it doesn't make you a bad person for doing so."

McCree grabbed her hand and she pulled him back to his feet. "Thanks."

"Just so you know Jesse," Echo said. "that was me talking, not Mina."

McCree raised an eyebrow at her. "Why was it so important that I know who it came from?"

"Well I can't let her take all the credit, now can I?"

Echo winked at him and the two parted ways.

/

A police cruiser pulled up to a street where a huge omnic was terrorizing several civilians, prompting the two officers to step out from said cruiser and approach the scene. One officer tried to redirect the attention to him while his partner tried to get the civilians to safety.

"Don't worry, I won't let it get near you."

"His name is Bob."

"What?" the officer turned to one of the civilians just in time to see her throw a punch at his face.

The other officer was also knocked out not long after by the omnic he was trying to distract.

Ashe walked over to the cruiser while Bob carried the bodies of the officers to Naomi and Rosita so they can take their uniforms.

"Good job." Rosita said, offering Bob a fist bump to which he just blinked at. "Ooookay then. Naomi, how are the others doing?"

"Things are good on our end, how are you guys?" Naomi said into her radio.

"Just about done here. Diaz, what about you?" McCree responded as he closed the door to the janitor's closet, leaving the two bound and gagged people in it to the darkness.

"We're about to go in." Diaz said, putting his mask on and nodding to the other gang members behind him. "Remember, the more heat we draw in the better."

Diaz kicked the bank's doors open and fired a shot in the air, ensuing panic as the gang members began piling in, making quick work of the few security guards they were faced with.

"This isn't anything new to you rich assholes so you should all know what to do by now." Diaz aimed at the people behind the counters. "Whichever one of you plans to pull that silent alarm, can you please do it already if you haven't done it yet, we're kind of on a schedule here."

Several minutes passed by before the first police cruiser came into view, and by then Diaz and the others had already set up, hiding behind desks, pillars and even hostages, ready for the shootout that would inevitably happen. Through the window, Diaz saw an officer grab a megaphone and slowly approach the building.

"We have the area surrounded!"

"And we have a room full of hostages!" Diaz yelled back. "What's your point!"

"You have people that we don't want to die, we have your escape routes locked. Why don't we talk about ending this without either party losing anything?"

"So you want to negotiate?" Diaz asked.

"Clearly. What are your demands?"

Diaz looked at his companions and he smirked. Things were going exactly the way Naomi said they would. "You know what, I changed my mind!" he yelled to the police outside. "I don't want to negotiate anymore. You don't have what I want anyway."

And with his first shot out the window, he started the shootout.

As the cops and robbers traded shots, one of the bank's employees was arguing with two police officers out back over the two parked armored trucks that were supposed to be transferring the money.

"What the hell are these still doing here?"

"The drivers haven't showed up yet." The bank employee said.

"Do you hear that?" one of the officers said, gesturing to the gunfire in the building behind them. "These trucks can't stay here."

The employee reached into his pocket and fished out the keys for both trucks. "Can your friends handle this with two officers short?"

The other officer grabbed the keys and gave the other to her partner. "These robbers look like amateurs, it won't be a problem." She said. "I just hope we don't get lost."

"The directions are on the gps, along with the trackers." The employee said. "Even if you do get lost, we'll still be able to find you and get that money to where it needs to be."

The officer looked at the screen on the center console. "How convenient."

The two trucks left the bank, running into more police cruisers on the way to help with the current situation, which seemed to be escalating as Diaz and the others began to get restless.

"How much longer Diaz? We have to get out of here while we still can!"

"Not yet!" Diaz yelled. "Stick to the plan."

"We have more incoming!"

Diaz looked out the window to see to more police cruisers arrive at the scene, bringing several more officers into the fray. Granted, this was supposed to happen, but they seemed to attract a bit more attention than they wanted to.

"Come on Ashe, where the hell are you?" he groaned as he loaded his last mag.

Bob dropped down onto the officers seconds after, as if he had heard Diaz's pleas for help. It was grunt work as usual for the omnic, taking cruisers and tossing them around as if they were toys while ignoring the measly pistol rounds being put into him by the officers, distracting them long enough for Ashe and McCree to pick them off one by one, clearing a path for Diaz and the others.

"Are you waiting for a red carpet? Lets get the fuck out of here!" Ashe yelled.

They all grabbed their haul as their allies outside began to back off to the getaway vehicle they stashed a few blocks away. Diaz grabbed a woman from the hostages and dragged her with them, yelling to the remaining officers just what he'd do to her if they decide to go after them.

They reached the getaway van and began to pile in the bags of cash as well as jewelry, phones and everything else they nicked from the patrons that were unlucky enough to be there.

"You were rougher than we planned Diaz."

"Sorry." Diaz said, taking his mask off. "I had to sell it."

"Don't apologize." Taylor said. "I didn't say I didn't like it."

The two of them kissed, only to be interrupted by Naomi's voice coming from the radio. "Hey, save that for later. Get your asses out of there first."

"You and Rosie make it out ok?" McCree asked.

"Hell yeah we did." Rosita cut in.

She turned the radio up as she smashed the gps and threw it out of the window of her armored truck filled with cold hard cash.

"Good job everyone." Naomi said as she did the same. "Meet you all back at the hideout."

…

Everyone ran past a slow walking Ashe as they went to the lobby of their apartment complex, giddy as they knew this was when they'd all be counting their haul and allotting the money to resources then splitting what's left among themselves.

One of the people who passed Ashe was Naomi, who decided to double back and put her arm around her. "Why the long face Ashe? I figured you'd be happy."

Ashe looked like she was barely paying attention, responding to Naomi absentmindedly. "When's our next job?"

"Already? We literally just finished." Naomi said. "We should kick back for now."

Ashe furrowed her brow. "No." she slipped out from Naomi's arm and broke into a slight jog to catch up to the majority of the crowd. "Hey, can I have everyone's attention!"

McCree caught up with them just as everyone looked at Ashe. "What is she doing?" he asked Naomi, who just shrugged.

"She talked to me about a next job already before calling for everyone." Naomi said."I kinda want to see where this leads though."

"Who among you is willing to go on another job tomorrow?"

Expectedly, no one was eager to go through all that again just yet. "We just finished a job today. Let's relax for now?"

"Fair point. Can I see who among you is proud of our haul today?" Ashe told the crowd. "Raise your hands please."

After a few murmurs, everyone raised their hands. "Good." Ashe said. "I now know you are all dumbasses."

"What the fuck?" McCree said, as shocked as the people Ashe was talking to. "Liza, what are you doing?"

Ashe ignored him as she kept going. "If we didn't go on this job today, would we have run out of resources?"

"No. We still have enough for a few weeks." Someone from the crowd responded.

"That just proved my point. Why did we go on this job when we didn't necessarily have to yet?"

No one answered.

"I look around me and all I see are thieves. And that isn't bad. What's bad is that you're thieves that don't have their priorities straight. We didn't steal to survive today, we stole to get rich. What we got, that will last us about a month, two maybe because of how many we are. What happens next?"

"We go on another job."

"Exactly. But here's the thing, there's no guaranteeing that we'll get away with as much as we did today. We could make it out with nothing, so not only are we lacking resources, we even lost some in that job. We would be fucked, wouldn't we? That's why I want to go on another job. I don't want to relax knowing that I'm only set for a short while. I don't want to relax until I have enough money that my grandkids don't have to worry. I'm in this to get rich, and I'm sure you are too. Its good if you don't need much to be contented, but if you think what we got today is enough for us, I assure you you'll be broke your entire life."

It was silent for a bit, which didn't sit right with McCree since Ashe basically told everyone that they were idiots for being happy. He couldn't even get a proper reading on Naomi, who was relatively the most laid back out of all of them. This wasn't good.

"You were right about her Naomi." Someone from the crowd said, making McCree so nervous that he was already racking his brain for ways on how to unfuck this up.

"How so?" Naomi responded.

"She does make a damn good leader."

Everyone else soon followed in the cheer, allowing McCree to breathe properly again. Ashe seemed unfazed by the praise she was being given walked back to McCree and Naomi as if she didn't just make a huge gamble.

"You got me Ashe, I can't say no to that." Naomi said. "We'll plan another job after dinner. Stay here for the night, I insist."

Ashe nodded and Naomi went ahead as well, leaving her alone with someone who wasn't exactly happy with what she did.

"What the hell was that Liza?"

Ashe shrugged. "What was what?"

"The whole 'You're all dumbasses' bit. What made you think that was a good idea?"

"All I did was show them they had the wrong mentality." Ashe said. "Besides, they seemed to agree with me so no harm done."

"And if they didn't? You can't just take risks like that."

"What are you so bent out of shape about?" Ashe asked. "If you don't want to go on another job yet just say so."

"That's not the issue." McCree said.

"Then what is? Because I don't see anything wrong in what I did."

Ashe sped up to join the others in counting. "Yes you do." McCree said to himself once she was gone. "You just don't want to admit it."

/

"Not gonna lie, this isn't so bad." Junkrat said, kicking back on the comfy bed of his holding cell.

"Yeah. My only problem is my roommate." Roadhog grunted.

"Aww come on Roadhie, you mean to tell me you'd rather be with any of these people than with me."

"I'd rather be alone."

"Hey! 'These people' can hear you, you know?" Sombra yelled from her holding cell.

"Oh I didn't mean anything by it, relax." Junkrat shrugged. "You lot are more competent than I gave you credit for."

"I could say the same for you." Doomfist said. "I thought you'd get yourself killed before that thing had the chance."

Sombra scoffed. "And you'd know that how? I didn't even see you fight her."

"You have Ashe to thank for that. As soon as we heard gunfire, her omnic came running for her and left me behind. By the time I got back, the omnics were already surrounding you."

"Sorry about that." Ashe's voice was heard from the adjacent holding cell.

Doomfist waved her off. "Whatever. If your bullets didn't do anything, I doubt I'd be able to do any better. At least I didn't get my ass beat."

"What about that blue lady?" Junkrat asked. "I didn't see her either."

Ashe looked at her cellmate, who was lying down on the bed, seemingly not wanting to join in on their conversation, but did so out of boredom anyway.

"I'm a sniper." Widow said. "CQC isn't exactly my style."

"So you didn't even bother trying?" Sombra said. "I guess some things don't change, do they?"

"First of all, fuck you. Just because I didn't jump in head first into an ass whooping like you did doesn't mean I didn't help out. Hell, I'm sure I did more than you."

"Oh come on Lacroix, I was just kidding."

"I wasn't." Widow said flatly. "If only any of us knew how to hack so we wouldn't need you anymore."

A round of laughter made its way through the holding cells, even from Sombra, despite being the butt of the joke. The holding cell at the very end of the hall wasn't as involved with the others though, and judging by who was in it, it wasn't really a surprise. Still though, that didn't stop one of its occupants from trying.

"Looks like they're all getting along well." Moira said.

Reaper looked at Moira with the most uninterested expressions she had ever seen. "Do you want me to be proud of them?"

"I was just saying, Gabriel, no need to be so glum."

"Why do you think I'm like this, huh?" Reaper asked. "We just had our asses handed to us by Ziegler and had our asses turned in by McCree. I just got fucked over by the two of the people I hate the most and you're sitting their telling me that the people we brought together to commit acts of terrorism with don't hate each other anymore."

If he was being honest though, Reaper did see where Moira was coming from with that comment. With the two of them being the Talon members that had been around the longest, at times it did feel like they were the backbone of this fucked up family. Which only made the fact that they didn't get along well until recently much worse for the morale of everyone else.

Moira snapped her fingers at him, separating him from his musings. "Hey, you have that look on your face again. What's on your mind?"

Oh that's right. His face. When Ana had the soldiers strip them of their weapons, she had the great idea of taking his mask as well, remembering their encounter a while back and how he wasn't exactly keen on having his face out in the open.

"What is to you?"

"I'm bored and it might be interesting." Moira said. "Spill it."

 _I'm suddenly saw myself as the father of this dysfunctional group of terrorists even though I kept drilling into you that we are not family._ Yeah, like he'd ever say that.

"Its nothing."

"Oh come on Gabriel, don't be like that."

"Like what?" Reaper asked, not exactly irritated at Moira, but not exactly delighted with her either. "I'm closed off, you knew that even when we were still in overwatch, I don't see why you thought I'd change."

"Gabriel was closed off." Moira said. "Gabriel died that night, and left me with you."

Reaper groaned. "Here we go again with that. Yeah, technically I 'died' that night, but you know what? So did you and Morrison. Ana is also technically dead. That doesn't mean any of us changed. I'm still closed off, Ana is still overprotective and condescending and Morrison is still a pencil pushing asswipe. Hell, that phrase only applies to Ziegler because that actually isn't her anymore."

"What about me?" Moira asked, a hint of sheepishness in her voice.

To no one's surprise, Reaper didn't notice it. "What about you?"

"Well you said none of us changed, and you described everyone." Moira said. "If I haven't changed too, then I'm still...what?"

"Annoying, I guess." Reaper deadpanned. "Why do you suddenly care about what I think of you anyway? That never affected you before."

Moira didn't answer. She never really did let it affect her before, even in their Blackwatch days, mostly because she never really cared for being liked. As long as she was respected, it was good enough for her. It was for that reason that they had never been close, even back then.

"I don't hate you." Reaper said. "I don't like you either, though, so don't go thinking that we're friends."

"Yeah, sure. Fuck you too."

"I give you a compliment and that's what you give back?" Reaper asked.

"That was a compliment?"

The sound of the door at the end of the hall opening grabbed everyone's attention, as well as their varied reactions as one of their captors walked in.

"Oi! Come to let us go?" Junkrat asked, much to the annoyance of his cellmate.

"Not you." Ana said. "Athena, open Reyes and Moira's cell for me please."

"As you wish Captain Amari."

"Bold of you to come here alone and let two prisoners free." Junkrat said. "How are you so sure you won't get jumped?"

"See those collars on your necks? They don't only dampen any powers you may have, they are also programmed to automatically detonate if you attack any of us."

"That's not exactly Overwatch's style is it?" Widow commented.

"Its Blackwatch's style." Reaper said.

"It is indeed." Ana said. "You can thank Reyes for your jewelry. Come on now, move along."

"Fuck off."

Ana frowned. "You wanted them designed to be able to be remotely detonated right? Do you want to find out if we ever went through with it?"

Ana stood there, hands on her hips as she heard Reaper groan from inside his cell but stepped out nonetheless, with Moira right behind him. The two of them followed her, Reaper with his shoulders slumped and Moira with keeping to herself most likely since Ana had a grip on her that she had once tightened way back when.

A mother figure as always.

"Just for your information Reyes, the collars can't be remotely detonated. One should not have the ability to decide whether a person live or dies in their hand."

"You're telling me you hold your guns with your feet? Get that preachy shit out if here." Reaper said. "And where are we going anyway?"

"Ok first of all, that wasn't what I meant." Ana said. "And second, we won't be going anywhere if you keep that attitude with me. I get it, you don't want to be here, but this whole thing goes way beyond us now, now that you and your friends had gone and turned Angela into what you just lost to."

Reaper groaned. "Fine, I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"A little more sincerity wouldn't hurt."

"Just tell me what you want me to do already."

Ana stopped as they reached the outside of the medbay.

"You are going to help us catch Angela."

/

Diaz laid a white sheet on his bed and began disassembling his shotgun, placing every piece onto said sheet. With an old toothbrush, he began to clean it, doing a good job of focusing on the task at hand despite the person behind him staring holes into the back of his head. He wasn't sure if McCree was waiting for him to ask what was bothering him, but he wasn't in any hurry to find out.

"Something's not right with 'Liza." McCree said, having given up and deciding to bring it up himself.

"Dude, you're still on that?"

"You're not?"

"No. I'm not." Diaz said. "Ashe says she's fine. She seems fine. I don't know why you're looking so much into this."

"It just doesn't feel right."

"Let it go man. I get it, you had a good relationship with your parents, which is, you know, good and all, but not everyone has that. Ashe clearly doesn't. I know its fucked up but I wouldn't blame her for not missing her parents when they're gone."

McCree fell back onto his bed. "What about a while ago then?"

"That whole speech of hers?" Diaz asked. "How does that relate to anything?"

"When it was just us doing jobs, she wanted to relax for as long as possible before the next one then suddenly she wants to go on another job immediately after we finish one."

"Ok, that's a bit weird, but it doesn't prove anything."

"Yes it does." McCree said. "Its as if she's trying to distract herself so she doesn't have to deal with the grief of losing her parents."

"Where the fuck did you pull that one from?" Diaz asked, McCree's theory so absurd that it made him stop cleaning his gun. "McCree, come on man just drop it. If Ashe really needed help with this, she'd say something."

"No she wouldn't." McCree said. "She'd been alone for her whole life remember? She wouldn't know how to ask for help because she's had to look after herself ever since she was little."

"Well if that's the case, then by now she probably has her own coping mechanisms for these kinds of things, if she's even affected by it, which I doubt." Diaz said. "If you keep on prying then you'd probably just mess her up while she's already dealing with it by herself."

Well if you put it that way, Diaz did have a point. McCree was never one to be comfortable letting a problem sort itself out, especially if he could have done something about it, but if Ashe herself if refusing to let anyone help her, then he doesn't have much of a choice.

"Fine. I won't-"

A knock on the door interrupted them, and when McCree went to answer it he found himself face to face with Taylor.

"Something's not right with Ashe." Taylor said before McCree could even ask what she was doing there.

McCree looked at Diaz then back to Taylor. "What do you mean?"

"She began planning for the next job immediately after dinner, but not how we usually do it. She was almost obsessing over it, and when I tried to talk to her about it she blew up at me about it."

"Ok maybe you were right." Diaz told McCree.

"That's not everything though." Taylor said. "When she got mad at me she said something about her not being enough. Not the money being enough, her not being enough."

"I don't think she was talking to you." McCree said. "Where is she now?"

"Still in our room I think." Taylor said, not even getting to finish her sentence before McCree pushed past her. "Where are you going?"

"Where does it look like?"

Several things ran through McCree's mind as he rushed to Ashe's room, the most prominent one being that if what Taylor had said was enough to get her to flip out, then she had been bottling it up for way longer than he had thought.

The scene McCree saw when he walked into Ashe's room was different from what he thought he'd see. Ashe's didn't look like someone who just lost it at someone, in fact, she even looked calm. For some reason, this scared McCree even more.

"'Liza, are you ok?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Seeing Ashe go back to that tactic made McCree want to force her to talk even more. "I heard got into an argument with Taylor, you mind telling me what that was about?"

"Don't listen to her Jesse, she's just twisting my words."

"I already listened to her though, but I want to hear things from your side too." McCree said. "What happened?"

"Taylor kept going on and on about how we shouldn't go on another job just yet." Ashe said, slowly losing that cool vibe she was presenting just moments ago.

"I said that once." Taylor whispered to Diaz, who was too invested to respond.

"Maybe she's just tired." McCree suggested. "A lot of us are, don't you think we should wait a few more days?"

"You know, I never thought you'd be one of them." Ashe said, clenching her fists as she lost her cool completely. "But I was wrong. You and Taylor are the same."

"'Liza, what are you-"

"Dismissing me like that. You didn't even bother giving me the time of day before shooing me away!"

McCree, Taylor and Diaz was speechless for a moment, all of them knowing that Ashe's words may have been said to them, but they were directed to someone else. Now that Ashe had opened that can of worms, there was no closing it until everything was out. And there were a lot of worms.

"You never even tried to listen to me. You always put me second to whatever the fuck it was you thought was more important. You were never there when I needed you. Now you go and get yourselves killed and I wasn't even important enough to know. You-"

McCree pulled Ashe in for a hug before she even realized she wasn't talking about any of the people in the room with her. Surprised by the sudden contact, she had no idea how to respond as McCree talked to her.

"Took you long enough, you dumbass."

Ashe shook as her eyes began to water. "Why? Why do I feel like this Jesse? Even though they were terrible people."

"I think you know the answer to that."

As McCree held her close, stroking her hair and giving her a kiss on the forehead as she cried, Ashe realized McCree was right. Despite how badly her parents treated her, she loved them all the same.


	13. Chapter 13

/

Ana led Reaper into the medbay where a chair surrounded by several overwatch medic staff were waiting for him, giving him a good idea of what was going to happen to him, but then he saw the armed agents accompanying said medical staff and he was lost once more.

"What exactly are you planning to do to me?"

"Just take a seat, you'll know soon enough." Ana said, nudging him forward.

After sitting him down, the staff began to attach probes all over his body, extremely nervous as they did almost as if they were scared to be around him.

Oh right.

The machine next to Reaper came to life with a whirr, although save for a bit of tingling, Reaper might as well not have anything hooked up to him with how much different he felt.

"I took a seat already Ana, I still don't know what I'm here for."

Instead of answering, Ana decided to throw the key to Reaper's collar to one of the medical staff, someone he actually recognized to be that medic they had with them way back. Even he made a comment about it as he worked Reaper's collar off.

"I can never get away from you people, can I?"

"Nice to see you changed sides Baptiste. Now I can actually kill you instead of taking you in."

"Let me see you try." Baptiste said as the collar came off.

Before Reaper could even take his first unstrained breath, his head was surrounded with way too many guns than was necessary. "Shit Ana, aren't you being a bit paranoid here?"

"You only have yourself to blame Reyes." Ana said.

"One or two could've done the job though."

"No it isn't, and we both know that."

Ana turned around and brought Moira with her, along with another armed agent and went for the small adjacent room by the med lab.

"You still haven't told me why I'm here!" Reaper yelled at her.

"He's right. Even I'm curious now." Moira said as they entered the room.

Ana put up a screen that showed all of Reaper's vitals. "You all described the thing Angela turned into as a better version of Reyes, am I right?"

Moira nodded.

"Then that means she shares some similarities with Reyes." Ana continued. "That means he is here to be studied in her place. Her regeneration abilities, possible weaknesses, all that and anything else we can get out of him."

"Ok then, but why am I here?"

"As amazing a medic as I am, this is way out of my paygrade." Ana said, gesturing to the screen in front of her.

"So you want me to study him?"

"Pretty much." Ana said, tossing the key to Moira's collar to the agent in there with them. "Can you handle her by yourself Lena?"

Tracer nodded, and so did Ana. "Well if that is all, I'll be going now."

"Wait, you won't be watching us?" Moira asked.

"Why? Do you plan on doing something?"

"Well, no, but when you said we'll be helping you catch Ziegler I thought-"

"You are helping." Ana said. "But only in here. Leave the fighting to us."

Moira raised an eyebrow. "You seem confident. Do you even know where she is?"

"She said she wanted to start a new omnic crisis right?" Ana said. "The red zone wasn't the only area with omnics she can take over. We're headed over to the other marked areas and see if we can beat her to the punch."

"Let's say you do, what do you plan on doing?" Moira asked. "You have to make sure she doesn't get the omnics don't you?"

Ana didn't answer. The thought crossed her mind before. If it were a matter of destroying several deactivated omnics, then it shouldn't be an issue, but there was no saying whether or not Mercy could control activated omnics, living omnics, they had no way of making sure that omnic would be safe from her short of killing said omnic, which was not an option.

"I don't know. Overwatch has no way of dealing with something yet." Ana said. "But maybe you do."

"Where are you going with this?" Tracer asked.

"Athena? You there?" Ana called out to the AI. "I need you to release another Talon member for me. And contact everyone who is available at the moment."

"What should I tell them Captain?" Athena asked.

"Tell them to get their gear ready, we're leaving in fifteen minutes."

…

McCree watched as Ana led Sombra towards their ship, unsure of what to say to his Captain. He didn't want to bring her with them, but if Ana decided to do so then there is probably a valid reason for it, and he'd rather not get lectured about it.

"Don't give me that look Jesse, I don't want to bring her either."

Well if he was getting lectured anyway, he might as well speak up. "Then why are we bringing her?"

"We don't have a way of making sure Angela won't be able to control any living omnics yet, and we can't kill them either so I figured-"

"Angela can't hack them if their already hacked." McCree finished Ana's thought for her. "Still though, she would need to have her collar off for that."

"She'd be dumb if she tries to do anything in a cramped ship filled with agents."

"I'm standing right here, you know." Sombra said, to which both McCree and Ana paid no attention too.

"Speaking of which," Ana said, unlocking Sombra's collar. "I'm putting you in charge if her."

"Wait, why?"

"No complaining Jesse, you're still in hot water after that stunt you pulled."

Ana went of to meet with Torbjon and her daughter by the cockpit and McCree, with a slump of his shoulders, led Sombra inside the ship where he hoped there were already several agents so he wouldn't have to keep a very close eye on the woman with him.

"Sorry I'm not Ashe, McCree." Sombra teased. "You seem to prefer watching over her after all."

They reached the ship and just his luck, no one was there. "I don't know what you're trying to get at, and I don't care."

"That's what she would say too."

"So you've been bugging me _and_ her, then." McCree said, annoyed.

Sombra shrugged. "Just the right amount."

"The right amount for that is zero. Please be quiet."

"Oh come on McCree, no need to be like that." Sombra said. "We'll be working together from now on anyway."

"And who told you that?"

"Think about it. We have a common enemy who just kicked our asses."

McCree shook his head. "Uh-uh, she kicked _your_ asses."

"And she will do the same to yours. Are you waiting for that to happen?" Sombra said. "I don't want to work with you too but neither of us will be getting anywhere if-, oh my god."

The sudden arrival of Echo in the ship made Sombra's tone do a complete one eighty from a serious one to that of giddy child, which seemed to fit her character a lot more.

"I've never seen an omnic like you before. You are so…" Sombra grabbed Echo's hands and looked her in the eyes, turning dead serious again. "Can I hack you? I want to know what its like to be inside you."

Echo nervously took a step back. "Uh…Jesse?"

McCree peeled Sombra off. "Was there really no other way to phrase what you just said?"

Sombra waved McCree off. "Oh come on, its not like she-" Sombra noticed Echo develop a darker shade of her face's color on her cheeks and her eyes lit up even more. "Wait, do you have them? Holy shit, no way. Can you orga-"

"And that's enough out of you." McCree said, shooting Sombra in the back with a sleep dart. "Sorry you had to listen to all that Echo."

"I-it's fine." Echo said, a bit flustered as she stepped over Sombra's unconscious body to sit next to McCree. "Please just keep her away from me."

McCree chuckled. "I'll do my best." He said. "Who else is coming with us?"

"Jack will, as well as two of our new recruits, one of which is also an omnic, which I'm thankful for since that means I won't be in the center of that woman's attention."

McCree looked at Sombra's body, debating over whether or not he should strap her in or not. Eventually, he caved in and carried her over to a seat and put her seatbelt on.

"She's here for the omnics right?" Echo asked as she watched. "Because Angela can't hack omnics if they're already hacked, right?"

Now that Echo brought it up, McCree realized that what they were about to do was basically a violation of omnic's rights if there ever was one, not to mention illegal.

"It's only for the time being." McCree said. "Just so that Angela won't be able to use them to do bad things. They'll be safe and-"

"Jesse, relax. I may not like it but I understand that this is our only option."

McCree breathed a sigh of relief. "Actually, are you sure you want to be coming with us? I'm sure Ana will understand if you tell her you don't feel safe going."

"I was the one who insisted on coming." Echo said. "If you tell Ana about this she'll only help you throw me out."

"Why? Are you not afraid?"

"Terrified actually. But you're all risking your lives so why shouldn't I?"

"Fair point." McCree said. "You really are Mina's creation, aren't you?"

Eventually, the others arrived as well, Soldier already lecturing the two recruits when they did. The first one looked somewhat out of place, looking more like he belonged in a night club than on the battlefield, but he was that medic that Ana was talking about before so who was he to judge.

The other recruit caught his attention more though. She looked eerily close to one of those OR-15's that they used to fight back in the day and it almost made McCree uncomfortable, despite the fact that this one was infinitely times more nice and gentle than the ones he's comparing her to. She had no trouble immediately striking up conversation with Echo as the ship began to get ready for take off.

"So you'll be our medic? What's your name?" McCree asked the other recruit despite already knowing the answer. The truth was Lucio was already well known before he even joined overwatch, even to people like McCree who didn't particularly enjoy that kind of music. He just wanted to get an idea of this man's character, whether his fame has turned him arrogant or not.

"My name is way too long and easily butchered." Lucio said. "So just call me Lucio."

Good start, but McCree needed more information. "What were you doing before you joined Overwatch?"

"A little music gig here and there, nothing major."

So he's not one to flaunt his achievements. One last question. "Why did you want to join us?"

Despite McCree basically interrogating him, Lucio just kept things cool. "I just wanted to help people, simple as that."

"Well ok then." McCree said. "Looks like we'll get along just fine."

Lucio smiled. "Looking forward to it." He said. "Now could you please tell me what we're doing again, because calling the briefing Orisa and I got brief would be too generous."

"I'm gonna be honest with you, I stopped listening after I heard that this mission had something to do with Angela, so I have a feeling I know less than you do."

"Then it looks like we're going into this damn near blind." Lucio said, amused. "That makes it even more exciting."

McCree smirked. Lucio was right. There was nothing wrong with a little challenge.

/

Ashe looked at the cowboy hat, matching skimpy American flag underwear and white thigh high boots with black stars, and she shook her head.

"I am not wearing this."

"Come on Ashe, just suck it up. Its for the job." Taylor said as she stripped her clothes off. "Besides, you already have that cowgirl vibe going for you so this shouldn't be any different."

"That's easy for you to say Taylor, you get to wear more than I do." Ashe pouted as she too began to take her clothes off.

Taylor shrugged. "Its not my fault I can pull off this outfit way better than you can. Besides, Naomi's getting next to nothing and she's not complaining."

"I don't think I want to know why she's comfortable with doing this."

"So I was a stripper back then, so what?" Naomi cut in. "Not all of us were lucky enough to be born with silver spoons up our asses."

"Ok then, so I know why you're doing this, but why do Taylor and I have to?"

"I can't have all the fun can't I?"

Ashe finished putting her outfit on and looked at herself in the mirror. "I don't think I'll be missing out on anything."

"Come on Ashe, live a little." Taylor said, squeezing Ashe's sides and making her jump. "Who knows, McCree may even take a liking to you after seeing you like this."

"He and the others won't even be here."

As soon as she said that, the door to their dressing room opened as McCree entered, and even though she was the only one of them that had everything covered, Ashe was still the one who thought of hiding.

"What the hell Jesse, you can't just barge into a women's changing room!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry but something came up and I really need to talk to Naomi."

Naomi pushed past the others and approached McCree. "Its fine. What's wrong McCree?" she asked, seemingly not bothered by the fact that she was talking to McCree while she was completely naked. Miraculously, even McCree kept his composure as he talked to her regarding the sudden change in the situation.

"Fuck it, we proceed as planned." Naomi decided.

"Are you sure? That means more work for you guys."

Naomi shrugged. "It can't be helped. At least we won't be getting shot at like you guys."

"But you do have to do this." McCree said as he turned to leave. "I don't know which is harder."

Once it was just the three of them again, they began to get ready again despite Ashe still uneasy about what they were about to do. Thankfully the others weren't, and they managed to calm Ashe down with some banter.

"McCree looked down during that whole conversation."

"He has to look down, he's taller than you." Taylor commented. "Besides, he's filled with those teenage hormones and you stood in front of him buck naked so even if he was staring at your boobs you can't really blame him."

"Can we stop talking about that please?" Ashe asked.

"Why? You jealous?" Taylor teased. "Did you want McCree to only be looking at you? Kind of hard to do that when you're hiding behind the dresser."

"That's enough, its almost show time." Naomi said, not giving Ashe a chance to retaliate. "By the way, there were more than we expected so Taylor and Ashe, you two have to split up to cover more ground."

"Wait what? I'm going alone? That wasn't part of the plan."

Naomi waved her off. "Relax Ashe, you got this."

"Wait Naomi-, shit." Ashe swore as Naomi went out of the room and into the crowd.

Taylor followed suit, but not before giving Ashe some encouragement. "Just get him into a room with you then knock him out. Easy as that."

Ashe clenched her fists, steeling her resolve as she walked out of the room herself where there was a crowd was already staring at her, undressing her with their eyes before she even gets the chance to do it herself.

Of course it had to be in a strip club.

She spotted their target at the entrance of the club where Naomi and Taylor already managed to separate them all. Her feelings of nervousness only increased when she realized that this would only work if she was if she could get that man to choose her for a private dance, something she did not have the confidence for.

Thankfully the man put her worries to rest when he himself approached her. "I just love my girls patriotic. How much for a lap dance?"

"Worry about the price later, for now just enjoy yourself." Ashe said, leading the man into the private rooms as the back.

"Its kind of hard not knowing the price beforehand." The man jokingly said. "You might be robbing me of all my money."

Ashe chuckled. This man had no idea what was coming to him. "We'll see about that."

Once they were inside the room, Ashe sat the man in a chair and closed the door. She turned the music on the radio on and it played erotic music, to no one's surprise. It was only until she was walking towards the man that she realized that she had no idea what to do.

"Nervous, little lady?"

Of course he'd notice. "Just a bit. Do you mind if we take it slow?"

"I'm just here to watch. You're the one in charge."

Here goes nothing. Ashe sat on the man's lap, lightly grinding against it as her hands began exploring her own body as well as his. She kept him distracted as her other hand began caressing his head to check for any form of communication device.

When she found none, she moved down to his torso to find any weapons he may have. She wanted to assume that the security would have checked them first, but this place was willing to hire someone barely legal such as herself so she didn't have much faith. Thankfully she didn't since she did find a pistol holstered at his side.

"Is that a gun in your jacket or are you just enjoying this?"

The man chuckled. "Isn't it supposed to be a gun in my pocket?"

Ashe smiled at him. "Nope."

She grabbed the man's pistol and knocked him out with it. After laying his body down on the ground, she began to search it where she then found a phone. Using the man's finger to unlock it, she began to search it only to be disappointed when she didn't find what she was looking for.

"Naomi, Taylor, I have nothing on mine." Ashe radioed to the others. "How are things on your end?"

"Mine didn't have it either." Taylor responded. "Its has to be on the guy you're with Naomi."

Taylor and Ashe waited for a few seconds in silence before Naomi's voice spoke up. "Yep, I have it. I'm sending it to the others now."

On the other side of things, the sound of Diaz's phone pinging as he received a message was almost drowned out in the gunfire they were under. He checked it and saw it was what they had been enduring being shot at for.

"I have the account details!" Diaz yelled.

"Give it to Rosita so we can get the fuck out of here already!" McCree yelled back.

Diaz threw his phone across the room. "Rosie heads up. How long do you need?"

While McCree and Diaz were fending off their attackers, Rosita was furiously typing on the office desktop, logging into its owner's bank account and transferring the money into their account.

"I got it, we're done!" Rosita yelled to the others. "Let's get out of here."

"Thank fuck." McCree lobbed a flashbang at his attackers and when it popped, the three of them jumped out the window.

…

"Its official, job well done." Naomi said, checking their bank account while everyone else cheered.

"How much did we get?" Ashe asked. "I want to know if what I had to do was worth it."

"Way more than we expected." Rosita answered. "So much so that we can splurge some of it."

"Rosita…" Naomi said, almost like a warning.

"Oh come on Naomi, we deserve to treat ourselves every now and then."

Naomi was put on the spot as everyone stared at her, ready to convince her if needed, and she caved in. "Fine, we can all go out for drinks." She said. "But if any of you get arrested you won't be getting paid on our next job."

Everyone cheered as they all went to their rooms to get changed as they all prepared to spend money that isn't theirs like there's no tomorrow. McCree and Diaz got dressed quickly and waited in the lobby for Ashe and Taylor, talking to Naomi and Rosita as they did.

"So where is this bar we're headed to?"

"Who said anything about a bar?" Naomi said.

McCree looked confused. "You said we were going for drinks."

"You two aren't even old enough to enter bars yet." Rosita said. "And so am I, and Ashe, and several others here. We're getting drunk, but not the conventional way."

Diaz rolled his eyes. "Then just tell us how."

"So impatient Miguel." Rosita teased. "Naomi has been networking here for nearly two decades, and in that time, she made several friends. The type of friends that store alcohol in their restaurants for her and her friends whenever they decide to go for a night out in the town."

"Two decades?" McCree asked, impressed. "Damn, how old are you?"

"Thirty-four. Ashe, if you please."

"What-, aaaaaaaaaaaah!" McCree yelled when someone pinched his ear from behind.

"Still tactless aren't we Jesse?" Ashe scolded. "You know you should never ask a woman that."

As McCree squirmed, Taylor walked past them and gave Diaz a quick peck on the lips. "You missed the show."

"Sorry, I was too busy getting our money."

"Excuse me, but what I did was way harder than what you had to do." Taylor teased.

Diaz scoffed. "Oh really? How so?"

"I was doing what I wanted to do to you to someone else."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Hey, if you two aren't done yet we're fine leaving without you."

The six of them left, followed by everyone else so now there was a huge crowd walking down the street. Thankfully it was happy hour for most of the venues on said street so it wasn't completely out of place. Naomi stopped them all before anyone entered.

"You all know which restaurants to go to, just mention my name and they'll take care of you." She said. "I better still be friends with them by tomorrow."

With that, everyone broke off into their own cliques and went their separate ways, Naomi and Rosita joining Ashe and the others since they don't really know who Naomi's friends are. Plus they're kind of the de facto leaders of the group.

They entered a Chinese restaurant where Naomi, after greeting the owner, introduced him to the others and mentioned a favor that she would be claiming. The owner nodded and led them to a back room where he had told them to wait while their staff prepared their finest dishes and a boatload of alcohol.

Once the food, and more importantly alcohol, was well in their system they began to loosen up. As per usual, Ashe didn't drink much, if any at all, and although she was mocked for not being able to handle her alcohol, she didn't care. Being sober meant that she'd remember every embarrassing thing everyone did the next morning, and there was a lot to remember.

Everyone was different, but she expected that. McCree slipped into the whole cowboy shtick even more than usual, spouting one movie reference after another, Taylor began going on about how much she loved everyone, especially Diaz, who now found everything funny. On the other side of the table, Rosita began to get touchy-feely with both McCree and Naomi, all while the latter was going on about how the economy was against people like them and how their crimes were necessary in order to separate the rich from the corrupt government.

Ashe couldn't help but smile. A year ago she would've never thought she'd be nothing short of alone, but then again a year ago, she hadn't met everyone yet.

"Hey Ashe!" Taylor yelled, words almost unintelligible from how slurred they were. "Drink already you pussy!"

Yep, it was settled. Losing her parents may have been sad, but for the first time ever, she finally felt like she had a family.

…

"Come on Jesse, almost there." Ashe coaxed McCree to her room after Taylor asked for her to let him stay there so she and Diaz can be alone. She doubted either of them can stay conscious long enough for them to actually do anything given how much they drank, but that wasn't her problem anymore.

No, her problem was the giggling, drunken mess that was McCree.

"Hey Elizabeth, where are we going?"

" _You_ are going to bed. You're way too drunk." Ashe answered. "And what happened to 'Liza? I was just getting used to it."

"Elizabeth sounds cute." McCree drunkenly said, giggling as he did.

Ashe plopped McCree down onto Taylor's bed. "Yeah, sure."

"That's why the name suits you. Because you're soooooo cute."

"You're really out of it aren't you? Go to sleep already."

McCree giggled again. "Ok Elizabeth. I love you."

Ashe sighed, taking comfort in knowing that she'll be the only one who will remember that this exchange ever happened. She smiled at McCree just as he was about to pass out.

"I love you too."

/

"Single file everyone!" Ana said through a megaphone. "Please cooperate. This is for your and your loved ones' safety."

Both Echo and Pharah were in the sky, making sure there were no stragglers among the omnics, as well as keeping an eye on the whole area in case Mercy decided to drop by. They were eventually called back down once all the omnics were safe and loaded into the second overwatch ship.

"It's a long flight to our next destination. I suggest you guys take the ship." Soldier said through the comms, to which they followed.

Upon entering their ship, they watched as the other one took off ahead of them so it can head for the overwatch base and meet up with them in the next area in time. Speaking of the next area…

"Where to next?" Lucio asked.

"Numbani." Ana responded. "A good chunk of its population is made up of omnics, plus there have been reports of several disabled Bastion units not too far from them."

"This is going to take a while." Torbjorn added. "I'd get some sleep if I were you."

Finally, an order that McCree had no objections to. He kicked his feet up and set his hat over his face, taking surprisingly little for him to drift off. Eventually, the nightmares he had after Mercy's death began to be a thing of the past, replaced by dreams of his and the new Mercy's confrontations. Knowing that there was only one way this was going to end though, he wasn't sure which of the two he'd prefer.

A sudden shaking woke him up, the situation giving him little time to make sense of everything as Ana was already yelling at him to get off his ass. If whatever it was that caused them to make such an abrupt landing was enough to make the most level headed person McCree knew break into a panic, then this was way more serious than he initially made it out to be.

McCree stepped out of the ship and saw that they indeed make it to Numbani, albeit far from civilization. The sight of it from a distance told him why though, as it looked like nothing short of a battle field. Echo and Pharah immediately took flight despite Ana's orders to stay with the group since they all knew just what awaited them in the city.

"Get back here you two! We don't know how many omnics Angela has."

"If we don't scout ahead, we could all die before we even reach the city." Pharah said. "We'll fall back as soon as we get spotted."

"Don't engage, no matter what!" Ana yelled. "Do you understand me?"

"There is way too many of them Ana." Echo said. "We barely entered the city yet and-, Fareeha look out!"

An explosion cut both Echo and Pharah from the comms, making them bolt towards the city. They made it to where the two seem to have landed and they were met with way too many omnics for them shooting at anyone not a good idea.

Everything went silent, making the sound of heels clacking against the road even more audible as Mercy approached them.

"Sorry everyone," she said. "but this is my city now."


	14. Chapter 14

"Fareeha!" Ana yelled as she ran to where her daughter and Echo had landed when they were shot out of the sky, and for her efforts, she was awarded with several omnics that now held her at gunpoint. Undeterred by this, she still went on to check Pharah for any injuries.

"I'm fine mum, my armor took the brunt of the blast."

"But you still fell a long distance." Ana raised her biotic rifle and nearly had her head taken off.

Mercy told the omnics to cease fire, but not without warning Ana first. "The only person you'll be shooting with that is your daughter, you understand."

"Nice to see you still care about the well being of others." Torbjorn commented.

"That's just about as far as I'll go, once she's ok I won't hold back anymore." Mercy said.

"Why bother then?" Soldier asked.

Mercy smirked. "Well I want you guys a chance to fight back. Killing you outright would be boring."

"That won't go well for you." Sombra commented.

"Well you're the one who got caught so I don't think I'll be following any advice you have to give." Mercy said. "Side note, you already teamed up with Talon? All because of me? I don't know if I should be flattered or disappointed that it wouldn't take much for Overwatch to team up with the enemy."

"You could be neither and just shut the fuck up."

Mercy gave McCree an exaggerated pout. "Aww Jesse, after all we've been through you're going to be like that?"

"We haven't been through shit. You're not Angela, remember?" McCree snarled. "Speaking of which, I'm still coming to terms with her death so stop ruining my memory of her by wearing her skin."

Mercy's face scrunched up as she stepped down from the OR-15 unit she was perched on and approached their group, all of whom tensed up as she got close. All except for McCree, who stared her dead in the eyes as they came face to face. Mercy stared back at him, her blood red eyes almost showing him his reflection.

"Why don't you come and peel it off me?"

"I lay a finger on you and we'd all be gunned down."

Mercy snapped her fingers and all the omnics stood down, their guns no longer a threat. "That enough for you, tough guy?"

From behind him, not knowing what McCree's next move was made everyone else nervous. "McCree…"

"Relax Morrison, I'm not that dumb." McCree said.

A flash of purple light shone in front of them as Sombra uncloaked behind Mercy and in right in the middle of the omnics that previously held them at gun point. With a quick activation of her EMP, she disabled them all and giving everyone a window to attack.

McCree stabbed Mercy with a gut knife, sliding it across her abdomen before shoving it deeper into her.

"Get Fareeha and Echo back to-"

An enraged Mercy head butt McCree and shoved him backwards. She fell to her knees thanks to her wound, but it didn't stop her from using her newfound powers. Instead of helping herself though, she used the smoke to regain of the omnics that Sombra hacked.

"Kill them!"

McCree heard Lucio jump up at the last second and he remembered hearing a loud but low drop sound of music, he knew there was a proper term for that, but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out. Not that it would matter since the life of him was about to end real soon anyway. That's what he thought anyway, but whatever it was that Lucio did allowed them to tank all those shots, even if just for a second more, since it gave them time to back away.

"What do we do now?"

"Get back to the ship!" Soldier yelled. "This place is fucked, we have no choice but to fall back!"

Before anyone could object, Sombra disappeared in a flash of purple light, leaving them all to fend for themselves, most likely headed to the ship so she can hack it and leave them again.

"That little-"

"Worry about her later McCree! We have more things to worry about." Ana said as she dropped a biotic grenade. "They're gaining on us."

Orisa suddenly stopped and turned around to shoot off a barrier akin to Reinhardt's to shield all of them, protecting them as she shot something else from her hand. No one was really sure what a floating green ball would have done to the omnics until they saw it pluck several omnics off the ground into a tight group before dropping them onto their peers, where they were then treated to all the bullets and explosives that the others had.

The huge chunk out of the crowd that they took left debris that blocked the path, giving them enough breathing room that they actually made it out of the city. Not that it made a difference though, since they didn't have a ride out of there anymore. At least not until Sombra surprised them by bringing the ship back and landing it right in front of them.

The doors opened and they all piled in, the ship taking off just as the army of omnics caught up to them. One look out the window told everyone just how powerless they are to stop the new evil Mercy and her army that wants to start a new omnic crisis.

"Thanks and all, but I'll take over from here." Torbjorn said, kicking Sombra from the cockpit. With a pout, she made her way to where McCree and Echo were sitting, which McCree was actually thankful for because even though he normally wouldn't want to be bear her, there was something he wanted to know.

"Why did you come back for us?" McCree asked, trying his best to make his tone sound more curious instead of ungrateful.

"Like I told you _vaquero_ ," Sombra winked at him. "we're all working together now."

/

Ashe traversed through the candle lit halls of the apartment building that was their hideout, intent on making her way to the penthouse that served as Naomi's office so that they can discuss something that she should have dealt with way earlier than now, but decided to put off several times.

Not that she could be blamed for it though because it is a rather hefty decision to make. Cutting herself off from her family's name, and in extension their money, was something she had thought of years ago but never expected to be given the option to so soon. Her parents' death was so abrupt that it almost made her not want to do it anymore, and the whole her avoiding dealing with it certainly didn't help.

The truth was, she thought she'd have a job that would set her for life by the time she was presented the opportunity so she wasn't exactly ready yet, even though technically she did have a job that would set her for life already. Which was why she wanted to talk to Naomi, because if she did choose to cut herself off from her family, she'd lose their money, the one thing that was the reason she agreed for them to join forces in the first place.

She could argue that they had proven themselves being worth more than just a cash cow, but there was still a small chance that Naomi would want to kick them out. She was planning on sorting everything out now, but hearing Naomi already talking to McCree in her office made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Are you sure I'm the one you want for this?" Naomi asked. "I'm old enough to be your mother."

"That's kind of the reason I chose you actually."

"My, my, McCree. Alright, I'll bite." Naomi said. "Are you sure you want to do this now though? Ashe did say she wanted to speak to me."

"Did she say what time?" McCree asked. "I'm going crazy enough as it is, I'd rather not wait any longer."

What Ashe was hearing was already bad enough as it is, but what Naomi added next was the nail on this very awkward overheard coffin.

"Fine, let's do it now, but don't blame me if we get caught mid way."

Ashe was torn. One part of her wanted to barge in and catch the two doing whatever it was they were doing, but the other part of her was scared that if she did that and didn't see anything incriminating, then not only would she look like an idiot, it would also make McCree and Naomi more careful, meaning she might never know just what exactly those two had going on between them.

The latter side won and she ran, scolding herself for how much of a fucking idiot she was. Despite her feelings for McCree only growing more after he basically forced her to properly deal with her parents' death, something she would not have been able to do on her own, she thought that pushing said feelings to the side so she can focus on the gang was a good idea, thinking that McCree would wait for her.

It clearly wasn't since she didn't actually know if he felt the same way, and in doing so, she lost him to someone else.

/

Despite him being oblivious to several things, McCree was very observant to any changes in the moods and body language of the people around him towards him. The little things, the _very_ little ones, he'd notice them. If they look at him for even a millisecond longer than what was necessary, if there was an ever so slight change in their distance when next to each other, he'd pick up on.

That being said, this meant that as long as nothing changes, McCree would never notice very obvious things. Someone could secretly be harboring anger towards him and he would never realize this if that person had always hated him since it was always the way they act around him. When there were changes though, it stood out so much that it annoys him at times.

Right now was one of those times because all he wants is to fall asleep, but he can't knowing that Echo was for some reason uncomfortable around him.

He eventually decided on just asking her directly. "Did I do something that bothered you Echo? If you feel like you can't talk to me about it, then we're not really friends."

Echo looked surprised that he noticed, and even more uncomfortable thinking of how she was going to voice her concern. That didn't stop her from trying though.

"Back there, you stabbed Angela. You just…stabbed her."

Hearing Echo's tone made McCree realize what didn't sit right with her, and why. From an outsider's perspective, his sudden shift from wanting to avenge the person he loved to stabbing said person in the gut with little if any hesitation did seem worrying. Thankfully, Echo talking to him about this gave him the opportunity to clear things up, both for her and for himself.

"Losing Angela was very hard for me, as you would imagine. Knowing you'd never get to see the person you loved ever again cuts deep, but its nothing compared to having her memory ruined." McCree said. "Seeing something that is her complete opposite control her body and just do the things she did, its downright insulting. Her existence alone is tarnishing Angela's good name, and I won't stand for it."

Echo nodded quietly. It wasn't the answer she was expecting, mainly because she wasn't really sure what answer she wanted to get out of McCree, but it put her mind at ease anyway. Fucked up as it was, killing the new Mercy will either bring the old one back, or allow her to properly rest, both of which were good for her.

"While we're on the topic of Angela," McCree piped up, snapping Echo out of her musings. "she didn't get you did she? You're still you, right?"

Echo smiled at McCree. "I won't be taken that easily Jesse." She assured. "But I will run diagnostics as soon as we get back, just so you can have peace of mind."

"Good. If you ever get hacked, just tell me and I'll come runnin'."

"That's not how it works, but ok." Echo said. "But let's say that it is, what will you do? Shoot me?"

Despite them joking about it, both Echo and McCree were scared about what they'd do if that time were to arrive.

"I'd make sure you hurt no one, not even yourself." McCree said, dead serious. "I'd even beat Angela out of you if I have to."

"Again, not how it works. But thanks."

McCree gave her a nod as he stood up. "Great, now that that's settled, I'll be taking a nap."

Echo raised a hand after him, seemingly wanting to say something more, only to have her words lost to her as she watched the cowboy walked to the cargo bay of the ship and lie down on top of a few tarp covered crates that were actually more comfortable than they looked. For some reason, she was so absorbed in him that it wasn't until Sombra spoke that she remembered that she wasn't there alone.

"I told you this already but you really do amaze me."

Trying her best not to think about how much of that Sombra had witnessed, Echo dismissed her. "What are you on about this time?"

"Most omnics now a days have their own personalities and emotions programmed into them, but you, you're way more advanced." Sombra said. "Its almost uncanny at this point, its like I'm talking to an actual human."

Normally, the way Sombra talked about humans and omnics and how she was _almost_ a human would leave a bad taste in her mouth, since there was an implication that humans were somewhat higher, but for some reason, Echo was intrigued by what Sombra was on about enough that she was willing to drop it to hear more.

"More…advanced?'

Sombra nodded. "It means what it means _niña_ , you are light years ahead of your peers. I can literally see what you're feeling sometimes. Not to mention the fact that your personality is not only that of a human's, its of a likeable one at that."

Echo's shoulders slumped. "Oh, I get it now." She said. "Not to burst your bubble, but nothing of what you just mentioned was programmed so all that advanced shit you've been saying is worthless. All of me, or at least the things you're impressed by are just things my adaptive circuits have picked up. I'm not artificial intelligence, I'm …borrowed intelligence at best, if you could even call it that."

It was Sombra's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

"Dr. Liao, my creator, built me with a software that learns from its surroundings and implements it to the system. She mostly meant it for me to be more flexible during missions but that system picked up on literally everything. The so called personality you're seeing, it doesn't belong to me, it belongs to her."

That last part was what Echo had been so conscious about. Despite never getting the slightest hint that it was true, she could never help but feel like the only reason everyone back home liked her was because they like Liao, meaning that she wasn't liked for who she really was. That thought then led her to other, arguably worse thoughts, like if maybe she wasn't her own person, since she wouldn't be anything without the woman she copied.

"You said it picked up on everything, right?" Sombra asked, thankfully saving Echo from her personal hell.

"Uh, yeah."

"Did this Liao person have a crush on McCree or something, because I'm getting those kind of vibes from you."

Great, another thing she copied from Liao. "Yeah, she did."

"So does that mean you have it too?"

Well she had just said that she got those vibes from her but ok. "I guess I do."

"Well then fuck Ashe, I'm on your ship."

Echo gave Sombra a somewhat disgusted look. "Jesus Christ, get a life."

Stating how she may also have a crush on McCree made her think even more about herself, though. Screw being worried about whether or not she should act on these feelings, she was more worried about whether these feelings were even hers. It didn't help that she and McCree were undoubtedly close too, but then again so was he and Liao so now she also doubted whether McCree actually liked her for her or for the person she was a spiritual successor to.

Back into the rabbit hole she goes.

"Thanks a lot." She snarled at Sombra for something she wasn't even aware that she had done.

"Wait, what? What did I do?"

…

"You know something Moira?"

"I know several things Gabriel." Moira responded. "I'm a genius, remember?"

"I only remember you being full of yourself because you're clearly not as smart as you say you are if you can't even tell that that was a figure of speech."

"Maybe you're just too dumb to realize I was joking." Moira said. "So what is it that you wanted to say?"

Reaper rolled his eyes. "This wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be."

Now that he had said it, Moira realized that he was right. After they had finished gathering information about how Reaper's abilities work, they were sent to the guest's quarters, albeit still under heavy security, but in quarters nonetheless. Not the cold and bland holding cells, no, now they were in a room with its own bathroom, a view and more than enough space for both of them.

And what better way to thank Ana than to nearly break the bed she had given them.

Moira chuckled. "Right. You usually take off as soon as we finish, but you don't really have that option now do you?"

"I meant being back at the overwatch base surrounded by the people we betrayed." Reaper said. "Staying here with you isn't that bad."

Moira raised an eyebrow. "If you're saying that just because you want another round, save your breath. Neither of us are in our twenties anymore, we keep going and one of us will have a heart attack."

"Fuck. Now I look like I actually care about what these yahoos think of me."

"No need to pretend with me Gabriel, I know you're an asshole."

Reaper smiled. "That is the nicest thing you ever said to me."

"Still though, you mentioned being back at the overwatch base."

"What about it?"

Moira shrugged. "I just thought that if we'd been doing this back then then maybe we wouldn't have treated each other like shit up until recently."

Hearing Moira's tone and seeing her be sheepish around him after what she had just said made Reaper feel guilty and want to apologize. Two things he thought was impossible for him. Then again he also thought that him ever liking Moira enough to give a shit about her feelings was impossible too so why the fuck not?

"Yeah about that, I'm…I am so-" This was harder than he thought it would be. "I'm sorry."

Moira smirked. "You actually apologizing to me Gabriel? I never thought I'd see the day."

"Neither did I."

"So are we friends now or did I read that wrong?"

Reaper thought hard about it. They had done way more than what normal friends would have done to each other, but then again neither of them were actually normal, now were they? He wasn't sure if he can call that a relationship either, and even if he could, he wouldn't know if Moira thought of it like that. Hell, he didn't even know if _he_ wanted her to think of it like that.

"Fuck it, yeah we're friends." He eventually settled for what she was asking for in the first place.

Hearing that made Moira feel good inside, more than she thought it would and more than she would ever admit. Not to mention hearing it at the overwatch base made her feel like he told her that years ago, when she may or may not have actually wanted to hear it. No matter, that was a past she'd rather forget anyway. What matters now is now.

And now, she needed a shower.

"I'm taking a shower." She told Reaper as she got up. "You coming with?"

"Normal friends don't do that."

"I'm pretty sure we're way past friends at this point." Moira said, and although he declared it literally seconds ago, Reaper understood what she meant.

After all they'd done, there was no chance of them ever having a platonic relationship anymore.

/

"Taylor, I need your help." Ashe said, bursting into their room, not bothering to check if she was alone or not and as a result, she walked in on her with her head between Diaz's legs.

Thankfully they weren't doing anything lewd since she was too busy being crying onto his lap while he ran his hands through her hair as he tried to console her. Ashe took a step back, face scrunched up in confusion at the scene unfolding in front of her. In fact, she was so convinced that Taylor had an inability to express emotions other than anger and lust that seeing her like this was so hard to look at that she almost wished that she had just caught them fucking instead.

"What happened here?"

Diaz opened his mouth to say something and was immediately cut off by Taylor loudly whining something damn near intelligible that Ashe didn't bother trying to understand it. Diaz sighed before fishing his keys to his room out of his pocket and throwing it to Ashe.

"Long story, might take all night. Sorry."

Ashe took that as her cue to leave, hearing Taylor's bawls as she left through the door and even at the nearby hallways.

"Diaz don't…don't l-leave me. Please don't…"

"I won't Taylor, I'm here. I'll always be here."

Being a witness to all that made Ashe forget her problem that brought her to Taylor in the first place, only to be reminded of it as soon as she entered Diaz and McCree's room and saw that there was no one there. A quick check of her watch told her that it was late, late enough that if someone was to stay in another person's company up until that point, then they'd just spend the night with them, and if what she heard held any sort of weight, then she had lost McCree even quicker than she thought.

 _Dumbass._ She seethed at herself. She didn't know just what it was that told her that it was a good idea not to do anything for the past few months when McCree had shown no signs of wanting anything more than a friendship from her. She could have spent that time either getting him to fall for her or getting over him, but instead she sat on her ass and now she only had one choice left, and it wasn't the one she was particularly fond of.

Ashe heard a knock on the door and she answered it in the hopes of seeing McCree and that she was worrying over nothing. Instead she saw Diaz.

The look of disappointment on her face made Diaz even more guilty than he already was, unaware of the fact that her disappointment was directed towards herself and not him, but it didn't matter since she also had a reason to be disappointed at him anyway.

"Yeah, I can explain."

"Please do." Ashe said, stepping aside to let him in.

"So there's this drug right, and when you're tripping it shows you this, like made up future and-"

"I know what it does Diaz." Ashe cut him off. Hearing Diaz describe that goddamned drug reminded her of the time that she herself tried it.

The so-called mind reader drug that paved the way for technology and recreational drugs thrown together back in the fifties was something she was well aware off. Advertised as something that can read one's brain waves or whatever bullshit it was to find what one truly wants and uses it to shape the trip they'd have, it sounded amazing.

Then she tried it herself and it worked just as advertised. The problem was when it was over, she was just reminded that she'd never the perfect and loving family that she had when she was high and it made her hope for something she'd never get so hard that she swore she'd never touch that shit ever again. How anyone could ever subject themselves to that over and over again was beyond her.

"Let me guess, Taylor gave it a try and she had a bad trip."

"Bad would be an understatement." Diaz said. "It started alright enough from what I can tell, with the two of us settling down and having a child, but then apparently I got tired of the whole domestic life and decided to take off, hence the whole 'please don't leave me' thing."

"Damn. If anything, I thought Taylor would be the one who'd get tired of the domestic life." Ashe said. "How'd you get her to calm down?"

"Well at first I told her that I'll never leave her but that just made things worse since I also told her that when we decided to settle down." Diaz said. "So I told her that I'll marry her first thing tomorrow just to prove it."

Ashe raised an eyebrow at him. "That's not something to be taken lightly."

"I doubt she'll remember anything from tonight." Diaz shrugged. "And even if she does, I do plan on tying the knot eventually. I was just scared that she didn't want that kind of thing, but after tonight, I'm definitely going for it."

"Well good for you then."

"So what did you need Taylor's help for? Maybe I can be of service."

Oh that's right, she had problems of her own. "Oh right, it was about McCree and Naomi but…, why were you shocked to hear that? Do you know something?"

Ashe's glare made Diaz unable to lie. "Alright fine, you got me."

"Then spill it."

"I can't. McCree told me not to."

"What?"

If Ashe was intimidating a while ago, then she was terrifying now. "M-McCree told me not to."

"That son of a bitch." Ashe snarled, about to bolt through the door if Diaz wasn't in the way.

"Wait, before you take off, its nothing major, he just needed something."

Oh, so he wanted to play this game. "Why didn't he ask you then?"

"Well…it was something only a woman can give him."

"Then why not Taylor? Or me? Why Naomi specifically?"

"H-he needed someone older."

Ashe kept pressing on since Diaz didn't narrow things down by much. "Both of us are older than him."

Diaz was holding one more detail back, knowing it would send Ashe flying over the handle and since he himself didn't know what it was exactly that McCree went to Naomi for, he couldn't stop her. Ashe noticed this to and basically backed him into a corner.

"Tell me what else he said Diaz." Ashe said, no threats necessary to get the man to fold like a lawn chair.

"He wanted someone with more experience."

Ashe wanted to be mad at him. She really did, but she had no reason to be. Still though, she was still mad at him because otherwise she'd be mad at herself, and she didn't like that.

"Before you do anything rash, just remember that the same thing happened to me and Taylor remember?" Diaz said, blocking Ashe from the door. "And things wouldn't have gone the way they did if she had just asked me right? Why don't you listen to your own advice and just ask McCree?"

Not wanting to be embarrassed the same way Taylor was clamed Ashe down enough to be able to listen to reason again. She settled for just walking to Naomi's room with Diaz in tow, now playing the role she did when Taylor had the same incident.

Surprisingly, Naomi answered the door without much delay, fully dressed and not looking like she had been doing anything with McCree, who she didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that he was with her at this time of night.

"Oh, hey you two. How can I help?"

"Not you, Jesse." Ashe said.

"He's all yours." Naomi stepped out of the room and pushed Ashe inside then closed the door behind her.

If Ashe wasn't shocked by what Naomi just did, she would have noticed that McCree was staring at her, looking as nervous as she had ever seen him.

"She'll let us out in a bit." McCree said, before yelling through the walls. "Dammit Naomi, I told you not like this!"

"What is going on here?" Ashe asked, thankful that she was wrong but with how McCree was acting, she wasn't so sure anymore. Still, she came here for answers and what just happened had just raised even more questions.

"Jesse, what have you and Naomi been doing?"

"I needed…advice."

"That doesn't give much away Jesse." Ashe said. "I'm gonna need more here."

"It was about this girl I liked." McCree said sheepishly. "I needed advice on how to get her to like me back."

Ashe's shoulders slumped. McCree may not have any feelings for Naomi, but he did have some for someone else. She might not have lost him tonight, but it looks like she will anyway. With a sigh, she decided to support him as his friend, since apparently that's all she'll ever be.

"Advice for that? Are you a child?" harsh support, but support nonetheless. "Have you never had a girlfriend before?"

"This is different. For one, she was the one who liked me." McCree said. "And I did have crushes before, but I'm really serious about this one. I don't want to half ass this like I did with my last crush so I asked an adult."

"Well that explains why you went to Naomi." Ashe said. "But still, why didn't you tell me and Taylor anything? I mean, you'd get a lot more advice if you asked more people."

"I wanted to do that actually." McCree said. "I thought about asking all of you but Rosie would've pestered me into telling her who I liked, and Taylor wasn't exactly good at expressing her emotions."

For some reason, not hearing the reason as to why McCree didn't bother asking her irritated her. Did he not trust her enough for her to even be an option?

"Why didn't you ask me?"

McCree got up to walk to her and look her dead in the eye. "Because dummy, you're the one I like."


End file.
